This is a page dedicated to the wild horses that are left around the United States. There will be information on call in days, updated information on situations that come through, and any other wild horse related information.

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If this does not constitute cruelty......
New post on Wild Horse Education
WHE Owyhee Press Release
by Laura Leigh
Run in sub-freezing temperatures (Leigh)
Hotshots used at loading (Stephanie Martin)
Treatment of Wild Horses in BLM Roundup Questioned – Advocates May Have to Take Legal Action
(Winnemucca, NV) The current Bureau of Land Management ( BLM) Owyhee (O wa he) roundup of wild horses has revealed disturbing practices.
a.. Wild horses have been run through wire fences, causing several horses to flip in the air and land on their heads.
a.. BLM has no temperature guidelines and drove the horses in freezing weather at such a pace that the horses were steaming. In the winter of 2010/2011 the Agency regularly ran horses in sub-freezing temperatures and respiratory illness was rampant in horses in the holding facilities.
a.. BLM employees and contractors were filmed shocking adults and foals repeatedly with electric cattle prods.
The advocate group, Wild Horse Education (WHE), the primary group that has been investigating and documenting BLM actions at roundups, is on the ground at the operation. WHE has an open case in federal court against BLM for inhumane treatment of wild horses. The suit has already gained two restraining orders and an Injunction.
In 1971 the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act (WFRH&B Act) was passed to protect wild horses and burros from private land owners who brutally rounded them up and sold them to slaughter in a practice called “Mustanging.”
In the past forty years BLM, the agency tasked with managing these protected American heritage animals, has failed to implement any humane treatment standard for their care and handling. Horrific images of BLM’s actions toward these animals continues to outrage the public, but BLM persists in inappropriate treatment and inadequate protection and management of these animals. This ongoing crisis is what forced the nonprofit, Wild Horse Education (WHE), to file against BLM in Federal court.
“It really is hard to believe BLM when they claim to be managing wild horses for the best interest of the horse. BLM fails to even implement an enforceable standard for humane handling,” stated Laura Leigh (WHE), “Then they justify their actions and claim there is nothing wrong. It gives me little hope that there will be progress without further legal action.”
The group is making preparations should a new court action be required. These cases, investigations and supporting documentation, are supported solely by Wild Horse Education, a registered Nevada non-profit.http://wildhorseeducation.org
Links of interest:
Current video of Owyhee wild horse roundup:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FK6WM1-xmv4
History of the legal battle for humane care:http://wildhorseeducation.org/the-humane-care-suit/short-history-of-the-humane-care-suit/
Laura Leigh | December 1, 2012 at 10:33 pm | Categories: Uncategorized | URL:http://wp.me/p1sfxY-D4
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New post on Wild Horse Education
Another step in Court toward gaining humane treatment for wild horses and burros!
by Laura Leigh
Chopper coming in contact with wild horse at Triple B in August 2011
Wild Horse Advocates Advance Inhumane Treatment Case Against BLM in Federal Court
(Reno) Today, a federal court advanced the ongoing case against inhumane conduct by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). The judge set a deadline requiring the BLM to provide plaintiff Laura Leigh, president of Wild Horse Education (WHE), a complete record of BLM’s activities and documents in question. The court also set aside a tentative date to conduct a settlement conference. In the usual course that gives the BLM the upper hand when filing the final brief that could decide the case without a trial, the court acknowledged the unfairness of the process and instead, required the BLM to file its briefs at the same time as the plaintiff.
In 1971 the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act (WFRH&B Act) was passed to protect wild horses and burros from private land owners who brutally rounded them up and sold them to slaughter in a practice called “Mustanging.”
In the past forty years BLM, the agency tasked with managing these protected American heritage animals, has failed to implement any humane treatment standard for their care and handling. Horrific images of BLM’s actions toward these animals continues to outrage the public, but BLM persists in inappropriate treatment and inadequate protection and management of these animals.
This ongoing crisis is what forced the nonprofit, Wild Horse Education (WHE), to file against BLM in Federal court. WHE gained a restraining order against BLM for conduct –the first ever in the history of Act. Federal Judge, Hon. Howard J. McKibben, called BLM’s stated justification for their treatment of the horses “a blame-the-horse affront.” BLM’s own review team, set up to answer allegations in the Triple B roundup, found that, “horses were observed being struck in the face, and often confused due to aggressive loading procedures and excessive pressure by multiple handlers. Several videos reveal that a few horses were repeatedly shocked with an electrical animal prod, sometimes in the face, and in one case, the use of this electrical prod led to a horse becoming stuck in a panel at the loading site. Some videos reveal horses being struck in more than one instance with the trailer gate to induce loading, and in one
instance a horse appears to have been kicked in the head by a Sun J employee (BLM contractor). In one video it appears that a horse was dragged into a trailer by a rope around its neck.”
"Unsticking" a horse head BLM style,(Triple B)
Laura Leigh, President of WHE, observed an incident where a single wild horse was pursued and apparently struck intentionally by the helicopter skids.
To date, WHE has won two restraining orders and an injunction against BLM for their conduct toward wild horses in this ongoing courtroom saga since August of 2011.
In spite of BLM’s continued reassurance that the agency is addressing these issues, and creating an enforceable policy, this type of conduct continues in practice. Leigh has documented current conduct (when her access is not overly restricted) that demonstrates no change on the range during operations.
“We will not stop our effort on these cases until a reasonable standard of humane handling and penalties for violations are outlined” stated Leigh “It is well past time that our wild horses and burros are protected from abuse as was the original intention of Congress in 1971.”
~~~
These cases, investigations and supporting documentation, are supported solely by Wild Horse Education, a registered Nevada non-profit.http://wildhorseeducation.org
Links of interest:
Video of horse hit with helicopter:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ObXB0Wq3nRE
History of the legal battle for humane care:http://wildhorseeducation.org/the-humane-care-suit/short-history-of-the-humane-care-suit/
Laura Leigh | November 22, 2012 at 1:13 am | Tags: BLM, Laura Leigh, wild horse education, Wild Horses | Categories: Uncategorized | URL:http://wp.me/p1sfxY-B5
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Broken Arrow BLM wild horse holding 10/2012www.youtube.com
Tour of Broken Arrow in Fallon NV. BLM wild horse warehouse.http://wildhorseeducation.org/
Barbara Anne Dunn
www.BarbaraAnneDunn.com
"What will happen when the buffalo are all slaughtered? The wild horses tamed? And what is it to say goodbye to the swift pony and the hunt? The end of living and the beginning of survival." ~ Chief Seattle, 1854

From: American Wild Horse Preservation Campaign <contact@wildhorsepreservation.org>
Sent: Tuesday, October 9, 2012 9:33 AM
Subject: Tell Salazar: Stop Selling Wild Horses to Slaughter; Oppose California Mustang Roundup
October 9, 2012
View online here.
Take Action
Tell Secretary Salazar: Stop Selling America's Wild Horses to Slaughter
Federal wild horse roundups continue even as the government has beenexposed for selling thousands of America's cherished wild horses to a known kill buyer who ships horses to slaughterhouses in Mexico. AWHPC's Deniz Bolbol is just back from the latest helicopter roundup in Nevada and has filed this devastating video of a wild stallion breaking his leg as he tries in vain to escape the trap. Enough is enough. It's time to make your voice heard! Please stand with us in telling Interior Secretary Ken Salazar that he must order an emergency stop to the wild horse roundup program. Our petition campaign has generated 12,000 signatures in three short days. Can you help us triple that by signing & sharing this petition and forcing Salazar to address this issue?
--

Just 2 Days Left to Oppose California Mustang Roundup!
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is proposing to roundup wild horses in northeastern California and reduce the herds to just 50-59 horses in the same areas where the hundreds of cows and thousands of sheep are allowed to graze.
Please take a minute to register your opposition to this unnecessary roundup of two of California's few remaining wild horse populations. Encourage the agency to utilize humane fertility control to suppress population growth when necessary. To submit comments, please click here or below.
The American Wild Horse Preservation Campaign (AWHPC) is dedicated to preserving American wild horses and burros in viable free-roaming herds for generations to come, as part of our national heritage. Supported by a coalition of over 50 organizations, its grassroots campaign seeks: * A suspension of roundups in all but verifiable emergency situations while the entire BLM wild horse and burro program undergoes fiscal and scientific reform; * Higher Appropriate Management Levels (AML) for wild horses and burros on those rangelands designated for them based on a fairer allocation of resources on our public lands; * Implementation of in-the-wild management, which would keep wild horses and burros on the range and save taxpayers millions of dollars annually by avoiding the removal and stockpiling of wild horses in government holding facilities.www.WildHorsePreservation.orgwww.StopTheRoundups.com
You are subscribed to the American Wild Horse Preservation Campaign's email list. You can unsubscribe here.
Help expand the grassroots network of citizens willing to speak up for mustangs & burros! ...
Help support our work!
Spread the word through social media!
Visit our coalition partners.
lLearn about AWHPC's founding sponsor.

From: American Wild Horse Preservation Campaign <contact@wildhorsepreservation.org>
Sent: Wednesday, October 3, 2012 11:08 AM
Subject: Outrage Grows Over Gov't Sale of Mustangs to Slaughter; Oppose Another NV Roundup
October 3, 2012
View online here.
Take Action
Oppose BLM Plans to Round Up & Remove 1,600 Wild Horses from the Owyhee Complex in Northern Nevada
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is planning another massive mustang roundup in northeastern Nevada's Owyhee Complex. The agency is proceeding with this roundup despite the fact thatit hasrun out of space to house captured mustangs and has begun selling thousands of horses to a livestock hauler who operates a horse slaughter business! (See below.)
What will become of the1,600 Owyhee mustangs the BLM has targeted for removal from their home on our public lands? Will they join the thousands of mustangs who have gone missing after being captured by the BLM? Will their noble lives end with unspeakable terror on the slaughterhouse floor? Please click hereor below to strongly protest this latest wrongheaded roundup plan.
Feature
OUTRAGE: BLM Exposed for Selling Horses to Known Kill Buyer as Agency Ramps Up Its Roundup Schedule
A damning expose´ published by ProPublica, a highly-regarding online investigative journalism site, has revealed what wild horse advocates have suspected all along: that wild horses sold by the BLM are being trucked to slaughterhouses in Canada and Mexico.The investigative piece reveals that the BLM has sold "truckload after truckload" of captured mustangs to a Colorado livestock hauler who purchases horses and sells them for slaughter in Mexico. The hauler, a known kill buyer, just happens to be a neighbor and business associate of Interior Secretary Ken Salazar. The BLM has sold him at least 1,700 horses --including the beautiful Adobe Town, Wyoming horses captured in 2010 and pictured above. (Photo by Carol Walker.)
Despite the unfolding scandal, the BLM is ramping up its roundup schedule, announcing Friday that it will remove 3,400 wild horses from the West in the next four months. What the fate of these horses will be is an open question. With 50,000 wild horses stockpiled in holding facilities, the BLM has run out of space to house captured mustangs. Where will it put thousands more horses? The ProPublica piece provides frightening insight into the agency's ultimate plans.
Please read more and take action by clicking here or below.
News
Antelope Roundup Underway: AWHPC Eyewitness Report
The first day of the BLM's roundup in northeastern Nevada's Antelope and Antelope Valley roundup brought tragedy as a stallion was killed by the BLM after he jumped out of the trap pen, broke his leg and tried, in vain, to run for freedom.A second horse was killed after sustaining a broken neck in a trailer in route from the trap site to the BLM's temporary holding pens. AWHPC's Deniz Bolbol is on site to bring you reports and video from the frontlines. The BLM is targeting 200 wild horses for removal from this vast public lands area where many times more cattle than wild horses are allowed to graze. Please read Deniz's report by clicking here or below.
Update
Thanks to You: Rescued Virginia Range Mustangs Are Safe in their Temporary Home
The 30 Virginia Range wild horses who were rescued from the livestock auction in Fallon, Nevada are doing well in their temporary home. This rescue was made possible in large part thanks to the generous donations of AWHPC supporters. Sadly, we have learned that domestic horses continue to be sold at the Fallon livestock auction for slaughter. As we know, over 100,000 U.S. horses annually are shipped to horse slaughter plants in Canada and Mexico.This is why passing legislation to protect all horses-- both domestic and wild -- from the cruel fate of slaughter -- is critical. You can take action to support this legislation by clicking here.
Meanwhile, the Hidden Valley Wild Horse Protection Fund, Least Resistance Training Concepts and all the other wonderful groups and advocates involved in the Virginia Range rescue are focused on caring for the horses and finding them permanent homes. They also remaining ever-vigilant for additional wild horses that have been captured by the state and are expected to appear at the livestock auction in the coming weeks. For updated information on these efforts, including photos, please click hereor below.
The American Wild Horse Preservation Campaign (AWHPC) is dedicated to preserving American wild horses and burros in viable free-roaming herds for generations to come, as part of our national heritage. Supported by a coalition of over 50 organizations, its grassroots campaign seeks: * A suspension of roundups in all but verifiable emergency situations while the entire BLM wild horse and burro program undergoes fiscal and scientific reform; * Higher Appropriate Management Levels (AML) for wild horses and burros on those rangelands designated for them based on a fairer allocation of resources on our public lands; * Implementation of in-the-wild management, which would keep wild horses and burros on the range and save taxpayers millions of dollars annually by avoiding the removal and stockpiling of wild horses in government holding facilities.www.WildHorsePreservation.orgwww.StopTheRoundups.com
You are subscribed to the American Wild Horse Preservation Campaign's email list. You can unsubscribe here.
Help expand the grassroots network of citizens willing to speak up for mustangs & burros!
Help support our work!
Spread the word through social media!
Visit our coalition partners.
lLearn about AWHPC's founding sponsor.

Sat Sep 15, 2012 9:21 am (PDT) . Posted by:
From: The Cloud Foundation <info@thecloudfoundation.org
Sent: Friday, September 14, 2012 3:16 PM
Subject: A Late Summer Update on Cloud & the Pryor Herd
A Late Summer Update on Cloud & the Pryor Herd
Use this area to offer a short teaser of your email's content. Text here will show in the preview area of some email clients. Is this email not displaying correctly?
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Sat Sep 15, 2012 12:32 pm (PDT) . Posted by:
From: Equine Welfare Alliance <vicki@equinewelfarealliance.org>
Sent: Saturday, September 15, 2012 12:25 PM
Subject: 2012.09.15 Things are heating up in Nevada!
Having trouble viewing this email? Click here
Today's News
And not because of our conference!
This is in the news and I wanted to send it to everyone before the rumors start. EWA is not directly involved in this but has been following what has been happening with the Virginia Range Horses. IMO, this appears to be the same thing we are seeing with the BLM but at the state level with the NV Dept of Ag. Many, many months ago, Willis had asked us to send a release about the Virginia Range Horses and we didn't because we were contacted by someone saying there was something in works being negotiated to work things out and it would hamper efforts. In hindsight, I don't know if we did the right thing....
I received a call late last night regarding charges being filed (misdemeanor) against Let 'em Run (Shirley Allen, Lacy Dalton and Willis Lamm were named). I know Lacy, Shirley somewhat and know the infamous Willis Lamm well. Without fail, Willis and I get into a good rousing argument a few times per year. What is ironic is this group is called when foals are abandoned to rescue and take them in by both the NDOA and BLM.
From what I can gather, NDOA is he** bent on removing as many Virginia Range horses as they can under the guise that they have become a nuisance to the locals (just as BLM is doing under the guise of emergency removals). The horses are going to "sale authority" and we all know what that means. Until things are sorted out, below are two articles - the charges filed and a protest against the removals that was held on September 14 - Terry Farley participated in the protest, as well. Below the links is an email that Willis sent today regarding the recent events.
Charges:http://www.mynews4.com/news/local/story/Criminal-complaint-filed-against-wild-horse/uPskfRNbs0m7D9h6pmcoXA.cspx
Protest:http://www.nevadaappeal.com/article/20120915/NEWS/120919867/1001&parentprofile=1058
eMail:
"The Nevada Department of Agriculture has upped the stakes. Right before the September 14th wild horse demonstration in Carson City someone leaked to Channel 4 a document that reportedly alleges that Lacy J. Dalton, Shirley Allen and I abandoned some horses on private lands in Storey County. This action appears to be an attempt to discredit the horse advocacy movement and muzzle criticism of the department.
Since nobody other than the press has seen these documents, we have been advised not to speculate on this issue until an attorney can get to the bottom of things next week.
There is an AOWHA bulletin posted that goes into some detail and it can be read here. http://www.aowha.org/war/ndoa_horse_sale_1205.html
Meanwhile, south Reno residents are reporting seeing trailer loads of horses being removed from nearby ranges and being hauled off by the department. The state's horse removal machine seems to be running at full speed.
Please stay tuned. This situation could get interesting."
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New post on Straight from the Horse's Heart
Wild Horse DC Pose Delivers Goods
by R.T. Fitch
Dear Fellow Equine Welfare Advocates:
No press release, just a simple thank you note.
On a personal level I would like to thank everyone involved for the success of delivering your heartfelt letters to D.C. asking the President to put a stop to the senseless management to extinction of our wild horses and burros.
Thanks go our Wild Horse Freedom Federation’s BoD, Habitat for Horses, the Cloud Foundation, the Office of Rep. Jim Moran, Horseback Magazine, PPJ Gazette, Protect Mustangs, Respect4Horses, Equine Welfare Alliance, Native Wild Horse Protection, Animal Law Coalition, Marin Mustangs, my wife Terry, Jerry Finch and the thousands and thousands of outraged American taxpayers who took the time to collect their thoughts and forward their feelings to us so that we could take them to Washington D.C. (apologies to anyone I may have forgotten)
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R.T. Fitch | September 14, 2012 at 12:12 PM | Tags: Barack Obama, Habitat of Horses, Horse, Jim Moran, Washington D.C., wild burro, Wild Horse, Wild Horse Freedom Federation | Categories: Horse News, Horse Slaughter, Wild Burros, Wild Horses/Mustangs | URL: http://wp.me/pyapj-4tI
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New post on Wild Horse Education
America, Can’t we do better?
by Laura Leigh
Antelope Complex roundup (copyright Laura Leigh 2011, all rights reserved)
Editorial:
Today a heated controversy swirls around the management of wild horses and burros in the United States. Issues ranging from creation of "eco-resorts," birth control, sales that leave animals vulnerable to the slaughter trade and inhumane treatment generate increasing interest to the American public.
In the last week proposed removals, eco-sanctuary and other projects have been placed in queue for public comment. The National Academy of Science continues it's review of the Bureau of Land management (BLM) and is open to public input. The Nevada Department of Agriculture created a recommendation to the Secretary of the Interior requesting a removal of horses, not livestock, during drought situations and the public can respond with comment. Issues involving humane care have still not been addressed and are a subject of public concern where the public feels frustration as their comments go unaddressed.
Often the public is perplexed about how to engage this process.
In 1971, during an election year, President Nixon signed the Wild Free Roaming Horse and Burro Act into law.
§ 1331. Congressional findings and declaration of policy:
Congress finds and declares that wild free-roaming horses and burros are living symbols of the historic and pioneer spirit of the West; that they contribute to the diversity of life forms within the Nation and enrich the lives of the American people; and that these horses and burros are fast disappearing from the American scene. It is the policy of Congress that wild free-roaming horses and burros shall be protected from capture, branding, harassment, or death; and to accomplish this they are to be considered in the area where presently found, as an integral part of the natural system of the public lands.
The implementation of the law was placed into the hands of the BLM, with Forest Service (USFS) tasked with cooperative management. Yet this left pockets of horses without Federal "protection."
The agency most people think of when they hear "wild horses" is the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), yet several other jurisdictions manage populations of wild horses and burros. Fish and Wildlife (USFWS) manages horses and burros; such as the Sheldon Refuge that they intend to remove entirely from the range. Forest Service (USFS) supposedly manages in conjunction with BLM yet controversy still exists such as the current issues surrounding the Salt River horses of Arizona. Virginia Range horses in the state of Nevada go almost immediately to auction, as there is no real infrastructure for adoption. The state of Texas actively shot burros last year.
These issue generate an outpour of emotion and desire to engage the process. Yet the public is often at a loss of where to begin as the entities that "manage" do not "educate" the public to appropriate process. Often the public is put off and seen as "overly emotional" and disregarded.
This attitude is seen clearly after two pro-slaughter members were appointed to the BLM's National Wild Horse and Burro Advisory Board. The Advisory Board was created to represent an "interested" public participation panel to create recommendations to the agency on management of wild horses on public land. Yet this board is made up of a multitude of individuals, that may well represent a conflict of interest, in participation on these recommendations such as Boyd Spratling that also serves on the Nevada Department of Agriculture representing state livestock interests.
In an AP article by Scott Sonner on the above mentioned appointments BLM responded to public concern with this:
"Their apocalypse-now, sky-is-falling rhetoric is flagrantly dishonest and is clearly aimed at preventing the BLM from gathering horses from overpopulated herds on the range," BLM spokesman Tom Gorey said in an interview with The Associated Press. "The BLM is not `managing for extinction.' There is no conspiracy to put down healthy horses that are in off-the-range holding facilities."
The agency tasked with managing more wild horses and burros than any other (BLM) does have a new webpage for wild horses. Yet nowhere on that page is there a listing of active documents for comment. Nowhere on that page is there any information as to the structure of how these documents impact management practices. The webpage does however have a link to CAWP, or "Comprehensive Animal Welfare Program," as the agency still has no standard of care in place and is involved in active litigation on this very issue and under a Federal Court Injunction to pilot conduct.
Is it any wonder the public lacks trust and feels frustration in it's attempts to engage the process?
Recently we have seen an exception. The BLM actively engaged the public during a "scoping period on eco-sanctuary." Meetings were scheduled, prior to alternatives for the project being crafted. Information was given to the public and questions were addressed. This type of outreach on an area of management that effects wild herds is an exception, not a rule.
If the agencies tasked with management took more time to address educating the public to each jurisdictions practices, and how the public can appropriately engage, wouldn't we be closer to creating a conversation that actually engages the concerns of an informed public? If the agencies want informed public participation wouldn't transparency of actions and information actually be paramount? The more complex a situation the greater the need to clearly outline the structures for participation and provide all information. Wouldn't that save time and reduce the frustration that fuels public outrage?
When the agency tasked with managing more horses than any other fails to implement a standard of humane care, when the need for one is more than evident, is it any wonder the public has grave concern over every action that agency takes? This is an area of concern that is shared by almost everyone involved no matter how they feel about wild horses occupying public land, why has no care standard been created?
In the United States of America, in the year 2012, can't we do better than this? Can't we begin to recognize the need for clear information and communicate issues and facts toward pro-active problem solving? Can't we do better in how we treat a symbol of American heritage and freedom?
This editorial was written as I pour through emails filled with questions involving jurisdictional issues and frustration expressed by the public. The public is seriously uniformed by the agencies tasked with management of horses and burros as to protocol, process and how to engage the system.
Original link to editorial here: http://www.examiner.com/article/wild-horses-america-can-t-we-do-better
This video is from the Antelope Complex roundup of 2011. This is when the "eco-sanctuary" had asked to simply keep these animals home. So much has changed yet so much is the same.
Laura Leigh | September 14, 2012 at 2:31 pm | Categories: Uncategorized | URL: http://wp.me/p1sfxY-ov
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from Jerry Finch of Habitat for Horses: The Trip to D.C. ~ Thursday afternoon found RT Fitch, his wife, Terry, and myself presenting Representative Moran with around 16,000 letters calling for a stop to both horse slaughter and the BLM roundup of our wild horses!!

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New post on Straight from the Horse's Heart
Your Wild Horse & Burro Letters to Washington DC!
by R.T. Fitch
Dear Wild Horse and Burro Freedom Fighters;
Remember all those postcards you mailed in to the Cloud Foundation over the past two years? Or the flyers and petitions you signed demanding a moratorium to roundups at events where I was speaking?
Well, tomorrow R.T. and Terry Fitch (Wild Horse Freedom Federation) and Jerry Finch (Habitat for Horses) will be hand carrying the Cloud Foundation mail as well as what (they have received (over 15,000 cards and letters!) to Congressman Jim Moran (D-VA). Congressman Moran will be giving your messages to the President.
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R.T. Fitch | September 12, 2012 at 5:28 PM | Tags: BLM, cloud foundation, Congressman Jim Moran, Habitat for Horses, President Obama, White House, wild burro, Wild Horse, Wild Horse Freedom Federation | Categories: Horse News, Wild Burros, Wild Horses/Mustangs | URL: http://wp.me/pyapj-4t9
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New post on Tuesday's Horse
Kansas prison slashes prices on wild horses used in inmate program
by VGFarrell
Viewing horses as little more than a commodity to be gotten rid of once their perceived usefulness is over is a trend that permeates horse welfare issues. In this case officials at a Kansas prison are slashing the adoption fees for wild horses used as part of a prison inmate rehabilitation program. There may be [...]
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VGFarrell | Sep 11, 2012 at 11:09 am | Tags: blm, Horse Slaughter, hutchison correctional facility, mustang heritage foundation, Wild Horses | Categories: Wild Horses | URL: http://wp.me/p6VVi-6xA
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New post on Wild Horse Education
Alert: Comments due 9/4 on Frisco wild horse removal, Utah
by Laura Leigh
Comments prepared by Tami Crisanti, WHE volunteerhttp://www.blm.gov/ut/st/en/info/newsroom/2012/august/blm_announces_a_30-day.html
EA can be read here: http://www.blm.gov/ut/st/en/prog/wild_horse_and_burro.html
Email comments to: blm_ut_Frisco_HMAP@blm.gov
Sulpher Springs Utah stallion in temporary holding, 2010
Individual respondents may request confidentiality. If you wish to withhold your name, street address, or email address from public review and disclosure under the FOIA, you must state this prominently at the beginning of the written comment. Such requests will be honored to the extent allowed by law. All submissions from organizations or businesses will be made available for public inspection in their entirety. The BLM will not accept anonymous comments.
Sample Comments can be copied and pasted or edited to more accurately reflect your views. It is important that BLM receive as many individual comments as possible so please personalize your comments.
Sample:
Bureau of Land Management
Cedar City Field Office
Attn: Chad Hunter
176 E DL Sargent Drive
Cedar City UT 34721
Fax (435) 865-3058
Subject: Frisco Wild Horse (HMAP) and Gather Plan EA
Dear Mr. Chad Hunter,
I am writing to you in reference to the proposed Frisco roundup scheduled for October 2012.
I find it very disturbing that the BLM is proposing a roundup when this HMA does not have its own specific management objectives. This is a direct result of the budget allocation, as only 1% of the Herd Management Budget is spent on research of herd management planning and sustaining health viable herds.
I did the math and discovered that the average number of cattle per month on the Beaver Lake, Frisco and Wah Wah Lawson allotments comes to 1258.9. The average number of Sheep per month on the Frisco, Crystal Peak and Red Rock allotments comes to 4390.7. Taking into consideration the estimated percent of each allotment that overlaps the HMA itself, you still have a monthly average of 1227 livestock animals, compared to the estimated 221 wild horses. I do understand that Wild Horses are managed along with multiple/shared usage of the land, but I also know they must, by law, be considered in the area where presently found, as an integral part of the natural system of the public lands. Historically, the BLM’s decision making process holds the multiple land usage priority far above ensuring that our Wild Horses and Burros remain integral. In addition, we are still completely lacking any research to detail what a viable use of
wild horses within the HMA actually is. As a prioritized use within the HMA, the standard of viability must be clearly outlined before other uses are permitted. The “multiple use” mandate requires that the use be viable. Under the Wild and Free Roaming Horse and Burro Act the population must be able to reproduce itself and be managed with minimal interference. Altering the natural sex ratios of wild herds cannot be considered as an option without scientific understanding of how this could affect the genetic viable of herd. No AML should ever be set at less 150 breeding animals. An AML of 12/60 (average 36) wild horses will not support genetic diversity of the herds or self-sustaining herds. The AML must be revisited.
The inspections over the last few months have shown that an estimated 40 wild horses have moved NE out of HMA to new food and water sources. This proposal includes removing all of those that have roamed off of the HMA. The The title of the '71 Act, reads " THE WILD FREE-ROAMING HORSE AND BURRO ACT OF 1971" and mandates management for self-sustaining populations of healthy animals in balance with other uses and the productive capacity of their habitat considered comparably with other uses, while maintaining free roaming behavior. The natural roaming behavior of our wild horses supports the health of the land, unlike cattle that stay in one place until no resources are left. On May 15, 2012, The Wildlife News published the article titled “BLM Report: Public lands ranching fails rangeland health standards on a third of rangelands assessed, 33 million acres”. I was shocked to learn that livestock grazing is identified, by BLM
experts, as the primary cause (nearly 80%) of BLM lands not meeting health standards. I was also appalled to learn that the BLM actually directed scientists to exclude the livestock grazing as a factor in changing landscapes. Rounding up wild horses for roaming is a waste of tax payer’s money. We need to complete proper research of the herd’s migration patterns to determine if any action is needed. Flying over the area every few years does not result in scientific research! As these Wild Horses are legally an integral part of the land, you should not remove them without completing true, factual, unbiased research.
In 2006 the BLM estimated a wild horse population of only 54 animals, and a sex ratio of 50/50. (36 were removed returned 7 were returned after fertility control treatments. ) The BLM is now saying, a recent review of the estimate taken 6 years ago suggests the guess was too low. (or maybe it was too high?) How could that be determined, leave alone proven as fact? Again, demonstrating that real scientific research should be required before any decisions are made or actions are taken!
Knowing that the Executive Order 13212 directs the BLM to consider the President’s National Energy Policy and adverse impacts the alternatives may have on energy development and that the “Authorized Officer’s” decision has no power to adjust livestock with in the HMA, as they were set through previous decisions, makes me wonder if my comments are even being considered. It is not acceptable to allow a public comment period for the tax payer’s that fund this program, and then ignore the comments! The extreme lack of trust the American tax payer has for the BLM when it comes to our wild horses and burros is based on lack of transparency and the inhumane cruelty we have confirmed without question, on camera and with our own eyes, and the fear of what is going on “behind closed gates”. Employees that work for the Wild Horse and Burro program refer to our wild horses and burros as feral livestock when their very jobs were created
by an Act of Congress that declares these animals “wild and integral”. Transparency is imperative! I want to see the roundups, clearly and close up, I want unlimited access to all holding facilities, and I want to see what my tax dollars are being used for and know I can trust the BLM to proceed with the best interests of the wild ones! When the BLM fights transparency, (especially after seeing so much cruelty and suffering inflicted when they know we are right there watching and documenting!), my distrust of the BLM becomes validated, without question! Transparency is imperative! The extreme lack of trust the American tax payer has for the BLM when it comes to our wild horses and burros is based on the inhumane cruelty we have confirmed without question, on camera and with our own eyes, and the fear of what is going on “behind closed gates”. Employees that work for the Wild Horse and Burro program refer to our wild horses
and burros as feral livestock when their very jobs were created by an Act of Congress that declares these animals “wild and integral”. Transparency is imperative! I want to see the roundups, clearly and close up, I want unlimited access to all holding facilities, and I want to see what my tax dollars are being used for . When the BLM fights transparency, (especially after seeing so much cruelty and suffering inflicted when they know we are right there watching and documenting!), my distrust of the BLM becomes validated, without question! Transparency is imperative!
I do understand that sometimes round ups are necessary. But please be sure to explore other options and have the facts before wasting more of my tax dollars and removing more of our wild herds. Please consider this alternative; conduct the research necessary to understand what these wild horses need to survive and take action to ensure them a place on our lands. They are icons of our history and freedom, and they deserve our respect and protection.
Thank you,
Laura Leigh | September 2, 2012 at 11:08 am | Categories: Uncategorized | URL: http://wp.me/p1sfxY-nS
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New post on Tuesday's Horse
Nevada wildlife refuge to remove all wild horses
by VGFarrell
by MARTIN GRIFFITH THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Cross-posted from Las Vegas Review-Journal RENO - (Sept. 2, 2012) -- Federal officials have approved a management plan for the Sheldon National Wildlife Refuge in northwestern Nevada that calls for the removal of all wild horses and burros from it within five years. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service officials [...]
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VGFarrell | Sep 2, 2012 at 7:52 pm | Categories: Wild Horses | URL: http://wp.me/p6VVi-6qT
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(Note from Brandi: this was from an ad in my local classified ad paper.)

BLM Seeks Proposals for Large Pastures for Wild Horses within Continental U.S.

Deadline: October 1, 2012

Pastures should accommodate 800-2,000 wild horses in a free roaming environment. Contractors are paid on a per horse per day basis. Minimum of one-year contracts awarded. More than one contract may be awarded.

Visit fedconnect.net and search reference#L12PS00589.

866-468-7826

Blm.gov

U.S. Department of the Interior Bureau of Land Management Wild Horse and Burro Program.

Wild Hoofbeats
Wild Hoofbeats
--
Wild Horses: Join the “Stop the Stampedes” Campaign
Posted: 23 Aug 2012 08:50 AM PDT
Write a letter to STOP the roundups
The Wild Horse Freedom Federation has just launched a letter writing campaign to stop the roundups and removals of our wild horses from our public lands. R.T. and Terry Fitch will hand deliver these letters to Washington D. C. in September, and their goal is over 6000 letters.
Read about their very worthy project here, and you can fill out your letter right on their form – no paper or stamps necessary! Please pass this along.
From the Wild Horse Freedom Federation:
Dear fellow equine advocates;
Over the past several years the frustration and agitation surfacing in common everyday Americans over the rapid and unnecessary roundup and removal of federally protected wild horses and burros from their rightful public land has been growing exponentially.
Said frustration has pushed average citizens, such as ourselves, to extraordinary measures in an effort to either facilitate dialogue with the offending governmental agencies or to effect change through legal litigation in an effort to insist that the violators follow the very laws they are charged to uphold. To date, our efforts have paled in light of the intensity and volume of disputed roundups and continued mismanagement of the very equines that the Bureau of Land Management is tasked to protect.
From our personal perspective, Terry and I have had enough. Our fight through Wild Horse Freedom Federation (WHFF) is ongoing but we are turning up the volume by hand-carrying over 6,000 individual letters to the President asking him to “Stop the Stampedes” so that appropriate science and sound management techniques can be applied before our western states are devoid of America’s most treasured national icons; our wild horses and burros.
Read on here, and get the form to fill out to generate your letter:http://rtfitchauthor.com/2012/08/21/wild-horse-freedom-federation-to-deliver-letters-to-the-president/
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The FS plans for roundup and removal of this beautiful herd were recently discovered by the late Dr. Pat Haight of the Conquistador program, (CERAP). Dr. Haight FOIA’d (Freedom of Information Act requests) the FS meeting notes, which indicated their plans to remove and sell the horses at the Pacific Livestock Auction, where they will most likely end up in kill buyer hands. Tragically Dr. Pat Haight passed away in the middle of her efforts to save this herd that she cared about so very much. Rest in Peace dear Pat, knowing that we will not rest before they are protected.
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New post on Straight from the Horse's Heart
ARM and R4H propose Management Solution for the Salt River Wild Horses
by R.T. Fitch
When you go tubing, kayaking or fishing on the Salt River in AZ, or even go sit in one of the parking lots along the banks, you may experience something more than chirping birds and butterflies. You may hear rustling in the reeds, you may hear whinnying, and you may experience something that not many people ever get a chance to.
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R.T. Fitch | August 20, 2012 at 6:08 AM | Tags: Animal Recovery Mission, Bureau of Land Management, Horse, Repect4Horses, Wild Horse | Categories: Wild Burros, Wild Horses/Mustangs | URL: http://wp.me/pyapj-4bH
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WordPress.comBLM doesn’t ship them to slaughter, technically.
There is a loophole called “sale authority” that allows bulk sales to dealers.
The dealers ship them.
Semantics game.
“Sale authority” needs to be repealed.
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New post on Tuesday's Horse
Mustangs, rescued from kill pen, find refuge at Va sanctuary
by VGFarrell
Cross-posted from American Wild Horse Preservation Campaign The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) insists that the horses the agency captures and brands do not go to slaughter. But the BLM knows, and the slaughter industry knows, that this is not the case. The lie was exposed by none other than an official for a Canadian [...]
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VGFarrell | Aug 13, 2012 at 10:21 am | Tags: blm, carol poole, Horse Slaughter, mustang freedom foundation, Wild Horses | Categories: Wild Horses | URL: http://wp.me/p6VVi-6cm
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New post on The Persian Horse's Blog
Let’s Change Our Middle Names to DILIGENCE ~ NO Water for the Wild Horses AGAIN.
by thepersianhorse
Dedicated to the Horses who Shed their Blood, Gave up their Freedom and Lost their Lives for BLM.
Wild Horses Drinking ~ Tamara Gooch
~
CLICK [ HERE ] to Sign Petition.
Removing wild horses from the definition of wildlife is a political maneuveur to deny the wild horses access to water. An argument of the oppostion is that wild horses are not wild but ferral. However, recent scientific evidence proves that wild horses are indiginious to North America.
As Anne Novak, Executive Director of Protect Mustangs points out, "most zoologists are familiar with the work of PhD.s J.F. Kirkpatrick and P.M. Fazio and the revised January 2010 paper Wild Horses as Native North American Wildlife. The Science and Conservation Center, ZooMontana, Billings.
Their scientific paper states, “Thus, based on a great deal of paleontological data, the origin of E. caballus is thought to be about two million years ago, and it originated in North America.”
Also the paper cites, “The fact that horses were domesticated before they were reintroduced matters little from a biological viewpoint. They are the same species that originated here, and whether or not they were domesticated is quite irrelevant."
So, indeed, wild horses are wild. The current Nevada definition of wildlife states "'Wildlife' means any wild mammal, wild bird, fish, reptile, amphibian, mollusk or crustacean found naturally in a wild state, whether indigenous to Nevada or not and whether raised in captivity or not." No other species is singled out for exclusion, why should wild horses be?
In the 76th legislature, Nevada Assembly Bill 329 attempted to remove wild horses from the definition of wildlife. Even though Nevada voters overwhelmingly sided with the wild horses and the bill did not pass, it appears as though the argument will be pushed again during the 77th legislative session.
Las Vegas news station KTNV Channel 13 reported that the bill "...would have prevented the state engineer from approving water rights for wild horses in Nevada" and "would deny the animals access to water prevent water rights being issued if someone were to establish a wild horse sanctuary to promote eco-tourism"
If you agree that wild horses should remain in Nevada's definition of wildlife, and that they should never be denied access to water, please sign the petition.
Robin Warren (Wild Mustang Robin), Director of the Youth Campaign for Protect Mustangs, co-authored the petition.
~
Per Debra Gulley, (this is the call to Diligence) Remember last year when NV wanted to change the "wildlife" status of our Wild Horses and block their water rights?? Well we have word that "they" will attempt this again come the next session. Let us start now and get big numbers on this petition in order to help with the fight we will be waging beginning next legislative session." The current Nevada definition of wildlife states "'Wildlife' means any wild mammal, wild bird, fish, reptile, amphibian, mollusk or crustacean found naturally in a wild state, whether indigenous to Nevada or not and whether raised in captivity or not." No other species is singled out for exclusion, why should wild horses be?"
In the 76th legislature, Nevada Assembly Bill 329 attempted to remove wild horses from the definition of wildlife. Even though Nevada voters overwhelmingly sided with the wild horses and the bill did not pass, it appears as though the argument will be pushed again during the 77th legislative session. The 77th Regular Session of the Nevada Legislature will begin on February 4, 2013. Please sign and share!!
PH
thepersianhorse | August 8, 2012 at 7:00 PM | Categories: ALERTS | URL: http://wp.me/p14D2r-Qx
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New post on Tuesday's Horse
U2 video for the documentary Wild Horses & Renegades
by VGFarrell
Please watch this video all the way through so that it gets a visit and moves it up so more people will see it too. Share everywhere. Thanks! -----
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VGFarrell | Jul 31, 2012 at 1:35 am | Tags: blm, helicopter roundups, save the mustang, us, Wild Horses | Categories: Wild Horses | URL: http://wp.me/p6VVi-60O
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Senate Introduces Bill to Protect and Support Wild Horses in North Carolina

Washington, D.C. (July 27, 2012) – The Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) commends Senator Kay Hagen (D-NC) and Senator Richard Burr (R-NC) for introducing S. 3448, the Corolla Wild Horses Protection Act. A companion to the bill introduced by Representative Walter B. Jones (R-NC) and approved by the House of Representatives earlier this year, this bill will provide for a new management plan for the free-roaming Corolla wild horses in and around the Currituck National Wildlife Refuge on the Outer Banks of North Carolina.

The Corolla horses’ presence on the island is thought to coincide with the arrival of the Spanish explorers on the American coast in the early 16th century. Today, these beautiful horses roam over 7,500 acres of public and private land in coastal Currituck County, North Carolina.

"The bipartisan Corolla Wild Horses Protection Act is a step in the right direction toward ensuring the long-term prosperity of the Corolla herd. These horses are a state treasure and should be protected for future generations of North Carolinians to enjoy," said Senator Kay Hagen, sponsor of the Corolla Wild Horses Protection Act.

"This critical piece of legislation with strong bipartisan support from the North Carolina delegation and many of their colleagues in Congress will enable the protection and responsible management of a prized herd of Colonial Spanish Mustangs," noted Chris Heyde, deputy director of government and legal affairs for AWI. "Wild horses have held a significant role in North Carolina and our nation’s history and this bill will ensure their preservation."

The current Currituck Outer Banks Wild Horse Management Plan of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service provides for a maximum of 60 horses, with the population controlled through adoption, relocation, or contraceptive fertility methods. According to Gus Cothran - a leading equine geneticist at Texas A&M University who has conducted extensive research on American wild horses - the genetic variability of the Corolla horses is among the lowest seen in any wild horse population in the country.

S. 3448 incorporates Dr. Cothran's recommendation to increase the herd to a minimum of 110 animals, with a target population of between 120 and 130. In addition, the legislation provides for cost-effective management of the horses while ensuring that natural resources within the refuge are not adversely impacted. The Corolla Wild Horses Protection Act mandates a viable population control plan for the horses - including contraceptive fertility methods.

AWI supports the bill's goal of increasing the population in and around the Currituck National Wildlife Refuge while addressing concerns over conflicts with endangered species on refuge lands, and commends the sponsors for their commitment to the protection of both wild and domestic horses. We hope the Senate will move swiftly to approve the measure when it comes up for consideration.

Resending this – they are up to 7700 “likes” but they need to get to 10,000. HorseAndMan has posted about them again today.
Please, everyone, go “like” the Salt River Horses Facebook page and send this request around to others – they are in danger of being rounded up and auctioned off! This is the herd where the stallion rescued the foal from the rushing water. He and his band deserve better than the truckride to death!http://www.facebook.com/pages/Salt-River-Wild-Horses/338636552850689
-- Judith
From:] On Behalf Of Horse and Man
Sent: Monday, July 16, 2012 5:03 AM
To:
Subject: horseandman.com
horseandman.com http://horseandman.com/ Link to Horse and Man
--

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On Wyoming's Range, Water Is Scarce but Welfare Is Plenty
Jul 9 2012, 10:48 AM ET
Andrew Cohen
Western ranchers frequently enjoy vast discounts on public grazing fees. So why are they so angry about sharing space with America's beloved wild horses?
Reuters
As Wyoming swelters under the summer heat, as the ash and dust from its forest fires spread out across the Western states, as a sustained drought deepens the fissures in its barren expanses of scrub and rock, the battle over the fate of thousands of its wild horses has just exploded anew in court. Here is a nasty bit of litigation worth watching for many different reasons, not the least of which is that may help more people better understand the magnitude of the economic and political forces which are currently arrayed against the federally-protected American mustang.
The short version is a familiar one. Area ranchers, who never wanted the horses around to begin with, now want the herds gone completely from a vast "checkerboard" patch of public and private land in southwestern Wyoming, in and around Sweetwater County, near Rock Springs. They allege that the Department of the Interior's Bureau of Land Management has "utterly failed" to limit the number of wild horses which roam these million-acre (or two-million acre) ranges. We have a legal right to declare we want no horses on these land, the ranchers claim, and it's now time we exercised that right.
Advocates of the wild horses, who have intervened in the case, argue that the ranchers have no such legal right to push the BLM into removing more wild horses than they already have from Wyoming's public and private lands. These tribunes say that federal officials-- led by Interior Secretary Ken Salazar himself, a longtime Colorado rancher-- have aggressively reduced Wyoming's herds, often at great peril to the horses and always at significant expense to taxpayers, who pay for both the roundups and the massive holding facilities where tens of thousands of wild horses now are corralled.
And the feds? As usual, the government is caught betwixt and between. The BLM evidently cannot remove Wyoming's wild horses fast enough to satisfy the ranchers. And it clearly cannot keep enough of the herds near Sweetwater County to satisfy the horse advocates. Indeed, one of the most disappointing aspects of the flurry of briefs that have been filed in Rock Springs Grazing Association v. Salazar is the faux indignation offered by federal officials in defense of their herd management policies -- as if they didn't know why this lawsuit came about the way it did.
THE PRELUDE
Even the lead-up to the litigation has dark meaning here. The lawsuit seems to have been driven from within. In early 2010, Interior Department Assistant Secretary Sylvia Baca, the former oil company executive, candidly told the ranchers that they would have to sue her own agency to vindicate their claimed right to get rid of the horses. This is the same Sylvia Baca, a BP veteran, whose subsequent work for the Interior Department's Minerals Management Service has worried environmentalists and others concerned about the oil and gas industry's influence on the agency required by law to oversee it.
The parties appear to disagree on precisely what Baca said, however, and there even is some room between versions offered by the ranchers. Last year, when the lawsuit first was filed, the Grazing Association wrote in its complaint that Baca, then working for Interior on wild horse issues, "attributed the [BLM's] failure to comply [with horse removal requirements] with external influences on the Department and Congress, and the lack of funding due to the need to contract for sanctuaries. The Assistant Secretary stated that litigation would be necessary to secure additional funding for wild horse gathers."
In their opening brief, however, the ranchers have toned it down a bit. They write: "The Deputy Assistant Secretary advised RSGA that DOI policies and priorities made it difficult to offer a solution short of litigation." Whatever the exact words, Baca's advice to the ranchers represented an appalling lack of neutrality about the Interior Department's political and legal mission (which is, in part, to avoid encouraging private parties to sue). More than that, it represented an overt act of hostility toward the federal government Baca still serves. Neither the feds nor the horse advocates mentioned it in their briefs.
THE RANCHERS
The lawsuit began last year but it took a while to heat up. At the end of May, the Rock Springs Grazing Association filed a motion asking a federal trial judge to enter an order forcing the BLM to remove all of the horses in the Checkerboard, an interconnecting pattern of public and private land that dates back to the days of the Pacific Railways Act of 1864. Not only is such removal required by federal statute, the ranchers argue, the feds still are bound by the terms of a 1981 federal district court order which had settled an earlier generation of litigation over the area's wild horses.
The first half of the Grazing Association's opening brief is interesting, and particularly candid for a court document, because it highlight the two strains of thought and belief that seem to animate the ranchers' dislike for the wild horses and their human advocates. The anger and frustration the ranchers feel toward the federal government practically shoots itself off the pages. And so does the impression that the ranchers never truly accepted the letter or the spirit of the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act of 1971, the Nixon-era federal law that first tried to protect the horses from humans.
The Grazing Association argues that the Wild Horse Act requires federal officials to remove wild horses from private land. Since the ranchers can't by law build fences separating their land from public land, the Grazing Association says the horses must go for the sake of land conservation. The ranchers contend that because they have reduced grazing of their own livestock" during the current drought it is "outrageous" that the BLM has performed only "token gathers" of wild horses. The tone of the entire brief is contemptuous-- and why not? The ranchers seek to hold the feds in civil contempt.
THE FEDS
One month after the ranchers filed their motion, the feds responded. The government's brief is dry and spare and focuses a great deal upon civil procedure, administrative law and Washington's version of events surrounding that 1981 court order. Indeed, there is a long history of conflict here between the ranchers and the feds, decades of promises and suspicions, of negotiation and disappointment. All of it is, at least in part, a result of the legislative compromises built into the original statute-- as well as new economic forces unleashed by subsequent amendments like this dubious one in 2004.
The feds say that the Wild Horse Act does not require them to remove wild horses from private land any faster than is "practicable" (to use the pragmatically bureaucratic word contained in the Bureau's own regulations). And they argue that the Grazing Association now is precluded from relying upon the 1981 court order to force the wild horses out any quicker than they already have been forced out by massive roundups In 2011 alone, the feds note in their brief, they removed more than 3,000 wild horses from the five "herd management areas" that are of concern to the Grazing Association.
Here's how the feds end their opening brief:
For over a century, [Rock Springs Grazing Association] has benefited from utilizing public lands, and before RSGA secured its interest in these lands, wild horses were present. After 30 years of formal management and agreement, RSGA has changed its mind as to whether this unique land pattern [the Checkerboard] can support wild horses and grazing. RSGA is free to change its mind under the Wild Horses Act, but the speed at which BLM complies with the request to remove these horses from RSGA's land must take into account the prior history and unique land management issues presented on the Checkerboard.
THE ADVOCATES
The advocates for the wild horses pick up where the feds leave off and come to what clearly is the most politically compelling component to this dispute. It's not just the order-of-magnitude difference between the small number of wild horses now grazing in the Checkerboard and the huge number of private livestock grazing there. It's not just about the language of the Wild Horse Act. It's about a form of social and economic compact the ranchers fail or refuse to recognize. If the Grazing Association wants to play on public land, the horse advocates argue, they should at least pay for it:
While RGSA is complaining about a hundred extra wild horses on two million acres of land-- half of which are publicly owned-- RGSA is permitted to have the year-round equivalent of tens of thousands of private livestock grazing on these same lands for its own economic benefit at taxpayer expense enough though, despite RGSA's statement to the contrary, this livestock is competing for the same forage that is needed by the wild horses that are statutorily required to be protected (emphasis in original).
One of the issues worth focusing upon here and now, the advocates say, is the extent to which the private and corporate beneficiaries of "welfare ranching" now seek to further dictate the terms of their sweetheart deals with the federal government. Among other things, "welfare ranching" describes the process by which public grazing rights are given to ranchers at ridiculously low fees, a sort of secret subsidy that reportedly costs the American taxpayer hundreds of millions of dollars each year. Shouldn't the ranchers have to give something in return for the economic benefit they get from the low fees?
In 1982, ranchers were charged $1.82 per AUM (animal unit months, a standard industry measurement). In 1992, the cost was $1.92 per AUM. By 2002, the cost was lowered to $1.42. Today, and since 2007, the cost has been $1.35. This is "the lowest fee that can be charged," dryly notes the 2012 Congressional Research Service report chronicling these figures. (See below). It's no wonder that Anadarko, the corporate oil, gas and land giant with major investment in this part of Wyoming, has also entered the litigation as an intervenor. As with every other story involving law and politics, no matter how far away from Washington, the quickest way to figure out what's going on is to follow the money.
THE RATES
Finally, to illustrate the extent to which the federal government subsidizes ranching, here is a passagefrom a Congressional Research Service report, dated June 19, 2012, and titled "Grazing Fees: Overview and Issues."
The BLM and FS are charging a grazing fee of $1.35 per AUM through February 28, 2013. This is the lowest fee that can be charged. It is generally lower than fees charged for grazing on other federal lands as well as on state and private lands. A 2005 study by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) found that other federal agencies charged $0.29 to $112.50 per AUM in 2004. While the BLM and FS use a formula to set the grazing fee (see "The Fee Formula" below), most agencies charge a fee based on competitive methods or a market price for forage. Some seek to recover the costs of their grazing programs. ...
State and private landowners generally seek market value for grazing; in 2004, state fees ranged from $1.35 to $80 per AUM and private fees ranged from $8 to $23 per AUM. In 2010, state grazing fees continued to show wide variation, ranging from $2.28 per AUM for Arizona to $65-$150 per AUM for Texas. Moreover, some states do not base fees on AUMs, but rather have fees that are variable, are set by auction, are based on acreage of grazing, or are tied to the rate for grazing on private lands. The average monthly lease rate for grazing on private lands in 11 western states in 2011 was $16.80 per head.
BLM and the FS typically spend far more managing their grazing programs than they collect in grazing fees. For example, the GAO determined that in FY2004, the agencies spent about $132.5 million on grazing management, comprised of $58.3 million for the BLM and $74.2 million for the FS. These figures include expenditures for direct costs, such as managing permits, as well as indirect costs, such as personnel. The agencies collected $17.5 million, comprised of $11.8 million in BLM receipts and $5.7 million in FS receipts.
For FY2009, BLM has estimated appropriations for grazing management at $49.3 million, while receipts were $11.9 million. The FS has estimated FY2009 appropriations for grazing management at $72.1 million, with receipts estimated at $5.2 million. Receipts for both agencies have been relatively low in recent years, apparently because western drought has contributed to reduced livestock grazing and the grazing fee was set at the minimum level for 2007-2011.
Other estimates of the cost of livestock grazing on federal lands are much higher. For instance, a 2002 study by the Center for Biological Diversity estimated the federal cost of an array of BLM, FS, and other agency programs that benefit grazing or compensate for impacts of grazing at roughly $500 million annually. Together with the nonfederal cost, the total cost of livestock grazing could be as high as $1 billion annually, according to the study.
Grazing fees have been contentious since their introduction. Generally, livestock producers who use federal lands want to keep fees low. They assert that federal fees are not comparable to fees for leasing private rangelands, because public lands often are less productive; must be shared with other public users; and often lack water, fencing, or other amenities, thereby increasing operating costs. They fear that fee increases may force many small and medium-sized ranchers out of business.
Conservation groups generally assert that low fees contribute to overgrazing and deteriorated range conditions. Critics assert that low fees subsidize ranchers and contribute to budget shortfalls because federal fees are lower than private grazing land lease rates and do not cover the costs of range management. They further contend that, because part of the collected fees is used for range improvements, higher fees could enhance the productive potential and environmental quality of federal rangelands.
SOURCE: THE ATLANTIC MONTHLY
Comments From S.A.M:
Just when the dust settles on one wild horse gather and we think the poor wild horses may get a break on the brutal BLM gather circuit, another needless and unprecedented proposed gather (this one in Wyoming's Rock Springs area) leaps onto the front page. But this front page is an article by noted legal analyst and author, Andrew Cohen, in the most recent edition of The Atlantic that cuts right to the heart of the matter.
Cohen points out in the very beginning of this article that the ranchers have, for a long time, expressed their disdain for the wild horses and the Wild Horse and Burro Act that protects them, but now they have risen to a new false standard by claiming that "we have a legal right to declare we want no horses on these lands," referring to the million acres plus that make up the checkerboard lands in that area. Adding further insult to these un-established and conflicted allegations of rights, they found an official at the Department of the Interior, working within the BLM's wild horse and burro program that advised them on how to advance their alleged right through a lawsuit. Yes, it's true. Someone at DOI actually advised them that by resorting to a lawsuit, one that would cost the taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars, the government might be able to assist in establishing their right to eliminate the horses. And
a lawsuit
was indeed filed.
In the brief of the lawsuit, the wild horse advocates focused the attention squarely where it should be; on the cheap and subsidized grazing on the federal lands that has allowed the ranchers to graze tens of thousands of cattle on these lands for decades and the resulting damage to the ecosystem caused by this grazing. Cohen provides an excerpt from the brief. "While the Rock Springs Grazing Association is complaining about a hundred extra wild horses on two million acres of land-half of which are publicly owned-RSGA is permitted to have the year-round equivalent of tens of thousands of private livestock grazing on these same lands for its own benefit at taxpayer expense..." People need to understand that as a whole, the public lands grazing industry is not the juggernaut it once was, nor is its contribution to the overall production, or demand, of beef so great that we need to sacrifice every living thing on the public
lands to sustain
them.
In an article written by Cohen last July, he states, "All the time and all over the West, horse advocacy groups battle the federal government over the fate of the wild horses. The story is almost always the same. The 'horse lobby' cannot compete politically (i.e. financially) with the cattle or ranching industries. Invariably, it's the wild horses which lose out to the cattle of the sheep or to other business interests. And invariably, it's the federal government, acting through its regulators who are captive to the industries they are supposed to regulate, which helps ensure that this occurs."
And now big oil has joined the procession of those industries which would like to see the wild horses gone. Anadarko, the corporate oil and gas mega-corporation, has joined the Grazing Association's lawsuit to remove wild horses. Andrew Cohen concludes in his current article that "the quickest way to figure out what's going on is to follow the money."
I sincerely hope that you will take time to read Andrew Cohen's current article in The Atlantic, as well as the others he has written on this subject, but even more importantly, don't let big oil, the ranching industry and others determine the fate of our remaining wild horse's herds. Let your voice ring out, to your elected officials, friends, acquaintances, businesses, and associations. Tell them that the wild horses are as important to you as any other part of our American history, and that you will not tolerate the elimination of one of America's last true icons.
Thank you,
Madeleine Pickens
Saving America's Mustangs Foundation
EQUINE DESTINY TRAILER:
OC production company, Change For Balance Productions, is set to premiere its award-winning documentary, "Equine Destiny," at the Blue Planet Film Festival on Friday October 8th at 12:30 pm in Santa Monica. The film will also play on Saturday and Sunday at the same time. "Equine Destiny" is a documentary that sheds light onto the dark world of horse abuse, neglect, and the slaughter of over 5,000,000 American horses to date.
QUOTABLES:
"Those who don't believe in magic will never find it."
-Roald Dahl

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Any donation to the Cloud Foundation, Front Range Equine Rescue and the Wild Horse Freedom Federationwill be directly applied to our legal fight
to save this very special Colorado Wild Horse herd.
Just leave a note for “West Douglas” and that’s where the money is going to go. No smoke and mirrors, this is the real deal.
New post on Straight from the Horse's Heart
BLM Backdoors More BS Against West Douglas Wild Horse Herd
by R.T. Fitch
Update by R.T. Fitch ~ volunteer president/co-founder of the Wild Horse Freedom Federation BLM is prepared to flip-off the Court Special Message from Ginger Kathrens of the Cloud Foundation The BLM has blasted back at the stay order filed by our coalition of concerned wild horse organizations in an unprecedented timely fashion that speaks to [...]
Read more of this post
R.T. Fitch | June 29, 2012 at 8:01 AM | Tags: Bureau of Land Management, cloud foundation, Colorado, Front Range Equine Rescue, West Douglas, Wild Horse, Wild Horse Freedom Federation | Categories: Horse News, Wild Burros, Wild Horses/Mustangs | URL: http://wp.me/pyapj-45J
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Help Laura and Attorney Cowen continue their work.
Make a little commitment to support them in their HUGE commitment to the Wild Horses.
New post on Art and Horses (Laura Leigh's Blog)
The road ahead…
by Laura Leigh
I know this blog has been silent as my time has yet again been taken up with the latest round of roundups to Courtroom that have gleaned two more legal precedents... so I will take a moment to fill y'all in on a few details.
The first win at Jackson came after three weeks of working (by invitation) on issues at Jackson. BLM was not proactive in addressing a situation we saw in that area before. They attempted to use a justified issue (regardless of the root cause) to create a broad sweep action that was actually against their own policy. We made no headway in discussion so instead we won in Court.
What we won was more language to build on. That language has been sorely missing in the Courtroom conversations. However with each win the vocabulary and the credibility of the documentation brought by us grows.
Example the win in the Ninth Circuit created language that allowed the Restraining Order won last year to pilot conduct to be turned into an Injunctive Order (active) last week. Even though the case in the Ninth is on another issue the conversation related to roundups as a non-resolved issue as the actual operation appears over. So the conduct issue was able to stand on the access issue.
That same conduct issue then created the venue to bring Jackson to a win. That win has added new language that can now be used to solidify that BLM can't use an issue (regardless of cause) in one quadrant to justify a broad sweep action. That has again given the horses another "piece."
Just as the case in Owyhee that brought the closure of public land (i.e. no observation at all) into the realm of unconstitutional action but failed to bring the foaling season issue to the plate because the conversational language and the credibility with the Court had not been established. But because of that win daily observation became a reality... with that came the other two cases on that stone.
I have been extraordinarily busy this past year, and even more so these last six months, creating a few avenues. I have been working with other journalists and in venues that will bring other issues into the light.
Every one of these stepping stones came from a seemingly endless marathon that has included traveling on dirt roads alone in ice storms to conferences with government personnel and Courtroom action. The work is every day, almost all day.
I have focused on my work that you all expect from me. Yet every time I have another win ugly voices raise in the chorus of derision. Not from the "other side" but ours.
In the last two and a half years the documentation and cases I have stood for and worked my fanny off compiling and researching have brought the horses precedent of language in the battle that has not existed before.
And to put my "lifestyle" into perspective I own nothing but a few items of clothing, three cameras, a computer and my dog. I do not even own solely the truck I drive. I can't even get new glasses.
So if you want to support this work, support it. If you don't at least recognize the validity and use the stepping stones to further the cause.
I have to get up at 5. There are several issues that are very pressing right now in holding and on the range. More soon.
Laura Leigh | June 30, 2012 at 12:02 am | Categories: Uncategorized | URL: http://wp.me/pOAos-RF
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"Marge" redmm97
Wild Hoofbeats
--
Wild Horses: Big Oil and Cattle v. America’s Wild Horses
Posted: 27 Jun 2012 01:41 PM PDT
For Immediate Release
Contact: Suzanne Roy, 919-697-9389, sroy@wildhorsepreservation.org
Deniz Bolbol, 650-248-4489, deniz@wildhorsepreservation.org
View News Release Online Here.
Big Oil & Cattle vs. America’s Wild Horses
Corporate interests converge in Wyoming to rid the state of half its remaining wild horse population
(Cheyenne, Wyoming – June 27, 2012)… Today, in the U.S. District Court of Wyoming, the leading public interest law firm Meyer, Glitzenstein & Crystal filed papers to protect Wyoming’s wild horse population from a legal attack by the nation’s largest livestock grazing association and the multi-billion dollar, oil and gas giant, Anadarko Petroleum Corporation.
Filed on behalf of the American Wild Horse Preservation Campaign (AWHPC), The Cloud Foundation, and the International Society for the Protection of Mustangs and Burros (ISPMB), the papers responded to briefs filed by the Rock Springs Grazing Association and Anadarko in a lawsuit that seeks to force the Interior Department to remove all wild horses from the “Wyoming checkerboard,” a two-million acre swath of public and private land in southern Wyoming. The area includes four wild horse Herd Management Areas – Salt Wells Creek, Great Divide Basin, White Mountain and Little Colorado – administered by the Interior Department’s Bureau of Land Management (BLM).
In November, the federal court granted the wild horse advocacy groups intervenor status in the case (Rock Springs Grazing Association vs. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar.)
These opening briefs represent round one in the legal showdown between wild horse advocates and big corporate interests over the use of public lands in Wyoming and the future of wild horses there.
“At the same time RSGA is complaining about a hundred extra wild horses on two million acres of land – half of which are publicly owned – the grazing association is permitted to have the year-round equivalent of tens of thousands of private livestock grazing on these same lands for its own economic benefit at taxpayer expense,” wrote attorney Katherine Meyer in her response brief filed today. “Thus, while RSGA complains mightily about the fact that the wild horses are using forage on private lands, it conspicuously fails to inform the Court that private livestock is using the vast majority of the forage on public lands that could otherwise be used by wild horses that, unlike livestock, are required by statute to be protected.”
“Despite tremendous public opposition, the BLM has removed thousands of horses from the Wyoming checkerboard in the past two years, but this is not enough to satisfy the livestock industry,” said Suzanne Roy, AWHPC director. “The ranchers view wild horses as competition for cheap grazing on public lands, and they won’t stop until all the horses are gone.”
“This story is playing out across the West, where ranchers and other corporate interests seek to exploit public lands and upend the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act,” said Ginger Kathrens, Executive Director of The Cloud Foundation. “In this case, we draw a line in the sand against the threat posed by ‘welfare ranchers’ and other corporate profiteers to the future of America’s treasured wild horses.”
“We are pleased to be a voice for the future of Wyoming’s mustangs,” said Karen Sussman, president of the ISPMB, the oldest wild horse advocacy group in the nation. “As a party to the original agreement establishing population levels in this area, we will vigorously defend the Wyoming’s wild horses and work toward an agreement that keeps them free where they belong on our public lands.”
RSGA controls the rangeland in the Wyoming checkerboard, an area 40 miles wide by 70 miles long that runs along the historic transcontinental railway corridor. RSGA owns 550,000 acres outright and leases an additional 450,000 acres from the Anadarko Land Company, a subsidiary of Anadarko Petroleum Corp. RSGA also holds permits to graze livestock on a large portion of the public lands in the checkerboard. RSGA owns members graze approximately 50,000 to 70,000 sheep and about 5,000 cattle on deeded private lands and leased public lands. By contrast, just 1,100- 1,600 wild horses are allowed to roam the area.
Thanks to taxpayer subsidies, RSGA members graze livestock on public lands for approximately one-twelfth (1/12) of the going market rate. The RSGA complaint, filed on July 27, 2011, seeks a court order that will (a) result in removing all wild horses from private lands in the Wyoming Checkerboard area, and (b) declare that the BLM “must remove all of the wild horses that have strayed onto the RSGA lands and the adjacent public lands within the Wyoming Checkerboard.”
The American Wild Horse Preservation Campaign (AWHPC) is a coalition of more than 50 horse advocacy, public interest, and conservation organizations dedicated to preserving the American wild horse in viable, free-roaming herds for generations to come, as part of our national heritage.
International Society for the Protection of Mustangs and Burros, founded over 50 years ago, was instrumental in securing the enactment of the 1971 Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act, the landmark federal legislation that established protections for wild free-roaming horses and burros on public lands in the West.
The Cloud Foundation is a non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation and protection of wild horses and burros on our Western public lands with a focus on protecting Cloud’s herd in the Pryor Mountains of Montana.
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“Wild Horses & Renegades” will premiere Sunday, July 1 (8 pm ET/PT), on Documentary Channel with an encore airing at 11pm ET/8 pm PT! Other special encores include Friday, July 13 (8 pm ET) and again the same night at 11 pm ET

From: American Wild Horse Preservation Campaign <contact@wildhorsepreservation.org>
Sent: Tuesday, June 26, 2012 8:02 AM
Subject: Oppose Roundup of 700 Horses in NV, Lawsuit Forces BLM to Halt Helicopter Roundup, More News & Alerts
June 26, 2012
View online here.
Action Alerts
Voice Your Opposition to the BLM's Proposed Roundup of 700 Wild Horses in Eastern Nevada (Diamond Complex)
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is asking the public to provide "any concerns for consideration" and information regarding the agency's proposed roundup and removal of 700 wild horses in the Diamond Complex in the Battle Mountain District in central Nevada. This roundup would leave behind just 126 wild horses on more than 255,000 acres of public lands (that's nearly 400 square miles). Meanwhile, thousands of livestock continue to be permitted to graze year-round in these same areas.
Please take a minute to tell the BLM that continuing to remove wild horses will not solve the problem of degraded rangeland and that reducing livestock numbers while humanely managing horse herds on the range is what is needed to improve range conditions. To submit your comments and send a personalized email to the BLM please click here or below.
Tell BLM to Cancel Its Plans to Remove Even More Horses from the Triple B Complex: Act by Thursday!
Coming on the heels of the massive 2011 winter roundup of 1,269 horses from the Triple B Complex in northeastern Nevada, the BLM is now proposing to remove up to 613 additional wild horses in order to reduce the population living in the Triple B Complex in eastern Nevada to the low "Allowable Management Level" (AML). The BLM estimates the current population to be fewer than 200 horses over the high AML the agency set for the Complex. The BLM is also now claiming "drought" as the reason for the removal -- issuing a press release stating that the agency has started to haul water to wild horses in the Triple B Complex. Yet the release says nothing about reducing livestock grazing in the Complex, where a powerful member of the Nevada State Legislature holds permits to graze his cattle on our public lands.
Comments are due by Thursday, June 28, 2012 at 5 p.m. PST. So please don't delay! Take action by clicking here or below.
News
Lawsuit Forces BLM to Halt Jackson Mountains Roundup
In response to a lawsuit filed by Laura Leigh of Wild Horse Education, last week U.S. District Judge Howard D. McKibben in Nevada issued a temporary restraining order (TRO) forbidding the BLM from conducting a helicopter roundup in non-emergency areas of the Jackson Mountains Herd Management Area (HMA) during peak "foaling season" (March through June).
The ruling forced the BLM to suspend capture operations on Friday June 22, 2012, after the roundup of horses in the southern portion of the HMA -- which the agency had launched on June 8 under the guise of a "drought emergency" -- had been completed. A total of 424 horses were captured and 7 horses were killed in the roundup that stampeded vulnerable foals and pregnant and nursing mares over untold miles in hot summer desert temperatures. Captured Jackson Mountain horses continue to die at the BLM's Palomino Valley holding facility, with BLM reporting three deaths there so far.
The inhumane roundup is scheduled to resume in the northern portion of the HMA on July 1. To view video of the roundup and read more, please click here or below.
Legislative Update
Devastating Amendment to Ease Restrictions on Public Lands Grazing Stripped from Farm Bill
We are pleased to report that the "Grazing Improvement Act," a destructive Farm Bill amendment introduced by U.S. Senator John Barrasso (R-WY), has been dropped from consideration. The amendment would have eased environmental restrictions on permits to graze livestock on public lands.
According to The Wildlife News, the "Grazing Improvement Act" would have increased the length of permits for grazing on public lands from 10 to 20 years, "further entrenching the privileged elite who graze cattle and sheep for essentially nothing while average citizens pay much higher fees to merely picnic." Read more by clicking here or below.
Vote Delayed on Appropriations Bill With Amendment to Ban U.S. Horse Slaughter
Yesterday, you received an email from us urging you to call your member of Congress to urge him or her to support the "Moran Amendment" to the Fiscal Year 2013 Agriculture Appropriations bill. The Moran Amendment prohibits federal funding for USDA inspections of horsemeat, thus preventing horse slaughter plants from operating on U.S. soil.
Late yesterday, we learned that a vote on the Agriculture Appropriations bill has been delayed. The legislation may now be considered at the end of this week, or during the week of July 10. (Next week Congress is in recess for the July 4 holiday.)
This is great news as it allows time for us to rally the grassroots support and let Congress know that Americans care about this issue! As Congressman Moran said when introducing his amendment, “When more than 80 percent of the American population opposes this practice, it is high time we put an end, once and for all, to industrial horse slaughter. Horses hold an important place in our nation’s history and culture, treasured by all for their beauty and majesty. They deserve to be cared for, not killed for foreign consumption." So please stay tuned for updates on this important vote! Meanwhile, you can watch the Appropriations Committee debate on this amendment by clicking here (debate begins at 3:00), and read Rep. Moran's news release by clicking here or below.
The American Wild Horse Preservation Campaign (AWHPC) is dedicated to preserving American wild horses and burros in viable free-roaming herds for generations to come, as part of our national heritage. Supported by a coalition of over 50 organizations, its grassroots campaign seeks: * A suspension of roundups in all but verifiable emergency situations while the entire BLM wild horse and burro program undergoes fiscal and scientific reform; * Higher Appropriate Management Levels (AML) for wild horses and burros on those rangelands designated for them based on a fairer allocation of resources on our public lands; * Implementation of in-the-wild management, which would keep wild horses and burros on the range and save taxpayers millions of dollars annually by avoiding the removal and stockpiling of wild horses in government holding facilities. www.WildHorsePreservation.org

www.StopTheRoundups.com
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There is a BLM adoption finally in PA July 13th to the 14th in Annville, PA It is being held at Shale Knoll Arena on 47 Crooked Road Friday is the preview 2 to 5pm and Saturday is the adoption 8am to 5pm Adoption is first come first served. If its the 3rd chance for any of these horses and burros to be adopted and they end up with no home they will go to goverment auction and be sold to slaughter or as broncs possibly to rodeos.

From: American Wild Horse Preservation Campaign contact@wildhorsepreservation.org
Sent: Friday, June 15, 2012 12:48 PM
Subject: BLM Stampedes Tiny Foals: Roundup Updates and other news
June 15, 2012
View online here.
Breaking News
BLM Conducting Helicopter Stampede in Jackson Mountains HMA During Peak Foaling Season
At left, a stallion in the Jackson Mountain Herd Management Area (HMA) tries in vain to defend his family against an unrelenting helicopter in the Bureau of Land Management's (BLM's) roundup currently underway in northwest Nevada. Tiny newborn foals, pregnant and nursing mares, and vulnerable horses compromised by inadequate food and water are being stampeded by helicopters in the middle of foaling season, something the BLM justifies as a drought "emergency." However, it is difficult to believe the BLM's claims, when cows continue to graze in the HMA. The agency had MONTHS notice of pending drought, yet took no pro-active steps to avoid a helicopter roundup during this dangerous time. In addition, AWHPC offered immediate expert assistance to water/bait trap horses, if necessary, to avoid a helicopter stampede. Please read more and take action, by clicking here or below. (Photo by Stephanie Martin/Tara Tucker/WildHorsesTheFilm.com)
Cibola-Trigo Burro Roundup Ends with 350 CapturedThe largest roundup of burros this year has concluded in the Cibola-Trigo Herd Management Area (HMA) in southwestern Arizona north of Yuma. The BLM is reporting that 353 burros were captured; 350 of these steadfast animals were removed from their home in the southern Sonora Desert, and just three burros were returned to the range. Although AWHPC was not able to stop this roundup, by teaming up with expert veterinarians, a local wild horse and burro advocate, and Tucson Congressman Raul Grijalva, we pressured the BLM to change its roundup protocol, which originally authorized helicopter stampedes in temperatures up to 105 degrees F. The BLM responded by revising its plan and requiring that capture operations cease when temperatures reached 95F degrees, which is still 5 degrees higher than experts recommend.
To read updates and the latest news on the Cibola-Trigo roundup - including a news report on the BLM's arrest of a videographer trying to document the capture operation - please click here or below.
BLM Gives Public Tour of Long Term Holding Facility in Oklahoma
On Saturday June 9, 2012, the BLM opened for a public tour one of the largest Long Term Holding facilities for wild horses in the country. Located in El Dorado, Kansas, Bob Buford's Shadow 7 Ranch, known to the BLM as the Teeterville Complex, houses 4,400 captured American wild horses on 3,200 acres. Photographer and AWHPC supporter Carol Walker was onsite for the tour and has posted a written and photographic account on her website. To read more about what's going on at this normally closed-to-the-public facility, please click here or below.
Please Support AWHPC's Work
AWHPC has been making a real difference for America's wild horses and burros, and our numbers are growing! We are building a powerful army of citizens who are willing to stand up for mustangs and burros and this will be a key to saving these iconic animals for future generations.
Please know that we could not do any of this work without you, our dedicated supporter base. We are so very grateful to each and every one of you who takes action each week to help the horses and burros and to those who have contributed funds. If you would like to help financially to support our efforts to defend wild horses and burros in the courts, in the field, and through our legislative, lobbying media outreach and grassroots organizing efforts, please click here. Any and all donations -no matter how small - make a difference and are deeply appreciated. Thank you very much to everyone for your ongoing support!
The American Wild Horse Preservation Campaign (AWHPC) is dedicated to preserving American wild horses and burros in viable free-roaming herds for generations to come, as part of our national heritage. Supported by a coalition of over 50 organizations, its grassroots campaign seeks: * A suspension of roundups in all but verifiable emergency situations while the entire BLM wild horse and burro program undergoes fiscal and scientific reform; * Higher Appropriate Management Levels (AML) for wild horses and burros on those rangelands designated for them based on a fairer allocation of resources on our public lands; * Implementation of in-the-wild management, which would keep wild horses and burros on the range and save taxpayers millions of dollars annually by avoiding the removal and stockpiling of wild horses in government holding facilities. www.WildHorsePreservation.org

www.StopTheRoundups.com
You are subscribed to the American Wild Horse Preservation Campaign's email list. You can unsubscribe here.
Help expand the grassroots network of citizens willing to speak up for mustangs & burros! ...
Help support our work!
Spread the word through social media!
Visit our coalition partners.
lLearn about AWHPC's founding sponsor.

From: American Wild Horse Preservation Campaign [mailto:contact@wildhorsepreservation.org]
Sent: Friday, 15 June, 2012 03:49 PM
Dear Mike & Bonnie, June 15, 2012
View online here.
Breaking News
BLM Conducting Helicopter Stampede in Jackson Mountains HMA During Peak Foaling Season
At left, a stallion in the Jackson Mountain Herd Management Area (HMA) tries in vain to defend his family against an unrelenting helicopter in the Bureau of Land Management's (BLM's) roundup currently underway in northwest Nevada. Tiny newborn foals, pregnant and nursing mares, and vulnerable horses compromised by inadequate food and water are being stampeded by helicopters in the middle of foaling season, something the BLM justifies as a drought "emergency." However, it is difficult to believe the BLM's claims, when cows continue to graze in the HMA. The agency had MONTHS notice of pending drought, yet took no pro-active steps to avoid a helicopter roundup during this dangerous time. In addition, AWHPC offered immediate expert assistance to water/bait trap horses, if necessary, to avoid a helicopter stampede. Please read more and take action, by clicking here or below. (Photo by Stephanie Martin/Tara Tucker/WildHorsesTheFilm.com)
Cibola-Trigo Burro Roundup Ends with 350 Captured
The largest roundup of burros this year has concluded in the Cibola-Trigo Herd Management Area (HMA) in southwestern Arizona north of Yuma. The BLM is reporting that 353 burros were captured; 350 of these steadfast animals were removed from their home in the southern Sonora Desert, and just three burros were returned to the range. Although AWHPC was not able to stop this roundup, by teaming up with expert veterinarians, a local wild horse and burro advocate, and Tucson Congressman Raul Grijalva, we pressured the BLM to change its roundup protocol, which originally authorized helicopter stampedes in temperatures up to 105 degrees F. The BLM responded by revising its plan and requiring that capture operations cease when temperatures reached 95F degrees, which is still 5 degrees higher than experts recommend.
To read updates and the latest news on the Cibola-Trigo roundup - including a news report on the BLM's arrest of a videographer trying to document the capture operation - please click here or below.
BLM Gives Public Tour of Long Term Holding Facility in Oklahoma
On Saturday June 9, 2012, the BLM opened for a public tour one of the largest Long Term Holding facilities for wild horses in the country. Located in El Dorado, Kansas, Bob Buford's Shadow 7 Ranch, known to the BLM as the "Teeterville Complex," houses 4,400 captured American wild horses on 3,200 acres. Photographer and AWHPC supporter Carol Walker was onsite for the tour and has posted a written and photographic account on her website. To read more about what's going on at this normally closed-to-the-public facility, please click here or below.
Please Support AWHPC's Work
AWHPC has been making a real difference for America's wild horses and burros, and our numbers are growing! We are building a powerful army of citizens who are willing to stand up for mustangs and burros and this will be a key to saving these iconic animals for future generations.
Please know that we could not do any of this work without you, our dedicated supporter base. We are so very grateful to each and every one of you who takes action each week to help the horses and burros and to those who have contributed funds. If you would like to help financially to support our efforts to defend wild horses and burros in the courts, in the field, and through our legislative, lobbying media outreach and grassroots organizing efforts, please click here. Any and all donations -no matter how small - make a difference and are deeply appreciated. Thank you very much to everyone for your ongoing support!
The American Wild Horse Preservation Campaign (AWHPC) is dedicated to preserving American wild horses and burros in viable free-roaming herds for generations to come, as part of our national heritage. Supported by a coalition of over 50 organizations, its grassroots campaign seeks:
* A suspension of roundups in all but verifiable emergency situations while the entire BLM wild horse and burro program undergoes fiscal and scientific reform;
* Higher Appropriate Management Levels (AML) for wild horses and burros on those rangelands designated for them based on a fairer allocation of resources on our public lands;
* Implementation of in-the-wild management, which would keep wild horses and burros on the range and save taxpayers millions of dollars annually by avoiding the removal and stockpiling of wild horses in government holding facilities.www.WildHorsePreservation.orgwww.StopTheRoundups.com
You are subscribed to the American Wild Horse Preservation Campaign's email list. You can unsubscribe here.
Help expand the grassroots network of citizens willing to speak up for mustangs & burros! ...
Help support our work!
Spread the word through social media!
Visit our coalition partners.
Learn about AWHPC's founding sponsor.

Wed Jun 6, 2012 4:36 am (PDT)
Horse and Man
A MUST READ!!
horseandman.com
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An Open Letter to HORSE AND MAN from Becky Standridge, one of the people fighting for Champ, the Stallion who saved the filly … YOU DECIDE.
Posted: 06 Jun 2012 02:01 AM PDT
I wrote about Champ two days ago… He is the Stallion who saved the filly from the river – and who now faces removal and potential sale for meat since they are considered ‘feral’. If you missed it, here is the link.
WHOOOOOO BABY! The story flew around the Internet like wildfire and the Arizona Forest Service was hopping mad! They took the time to seek out my blogpost and comment that there was no truth to the rumor… and that this horse stuff was taking away from the important fire issues that are threatening the state.
I think most of you received the same exact email. Exact.
Many of you wrote to me and asked if the story was true or false.
I wrote to Becky and told her that I had stuck my neck out (happily) and would continue to do so, but I would appreciate her personal story so that my readers could feel better about standing up for Champ and his herd.
I HATE A BULLY.
But first, I gotta tell you… I’ve sat in many BLM meetings here in the State Capitol of California (Sacramento) and to be frank, I wanted to throw spitballs, they were so ineffectual. I’ve seen second graders divide up their lunches in a more diplomatic and conscientious manner… The BLM consistently showed no true interest in the pleas from educated and informed Mustang supporters who were there to present different methods of management.
I left every meeting frustrated and muttering.
Flash forward to yesterday… receiving that pat email from the Forest Service (after they took the time to find me) resounded in my mind as the same sort of jibberjabber nonspeak that I heard in those BLM meetings.
I’M MAD AS HELL…
To quote Howard Beale, “I’m as mad as hell, and I’m not going to take this anymore!”
I don’t like this issue with Champ and I really don’t like how we, the people, are being treated when ‘we the people’ actually own all of the State Parks and all of the land.
No, I’m not going to be intimidated and let this issue slip away. No, I’m not going to sit back and believe the nonspeak. No, Forest Service, don’t tell me and everyone else the same pat answer…
DEAL WITH IT.
Deal with me.
I’m taking a stand and I’m going to print Becky’s open letter.
You can decide for yourselves.
BECKY’S INFORMATION
This is Becky’s information and the information for her group CERAP:
The Conquistador Equine Rescue and Advocacy Program (CERAP), a 501c3 equine rescue and advocacy charity.
Contact:Patricia Haight, Ph.D. (480) 593-4491
Becky Standridge: (480) 620-4490,
Salt River Wild Horses FB Page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Salt-River-Wild-Horses/338636552850689
HERE IS BECKY’S OPEN LETTER TO HORSE AND MAN
Here is her story. You can decide if you’d like to support her and her altruistic crusade for Champ’s herd:
Dawn, I have heard the same feedback but what the forest service is saying is not true. Here are two statements I put on my Facebook fan page for the Salt River Wild Horses. I think it should be helpful in information your readers that you are stating the truth.
The Forest Service is actually the one who is spreading untrue allegations. We have had several people inform us that Congressman Flake’s office has stated the removal of the horses IS on the table. The Forest Service is still labeling these horses incorrectly as “feral” and “trespass.” Any estray or trespass horses on Forest Service land can be removed legally under the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976. It is possible some horses have already been removed and it is possible they are temporarily stopping their efforts until public pressure fades. I do not believe it is possible Congressman Flake’s office started this story for the fun of it or to distract the Forest Service from their current most challenging issue: wildfires in Arizona. Please contact your Congressman and Senators regarding this issue.
The primary reason I signed up to be a Forest Service volunteer was because I was told by the Range and Wildlife manager that they have a multiple agency effort going to determine what they are going to do with the horses, and one of their options was to use PZP on the mares.
To eliminate the many reasons this option might not be selected, I offered to pay may way so I could become certified for delivering PZP, I offered to purchase the dart gun, I offered to buy all the PZP to be used on the mares, I offered to dart the mares myself and to track the progress in a database that I would create. I offered to create a non-profit organization that would manage the wild horses and would raise funds through the sale of related products, request for donations, membership fees and grant money. I described an entire campaign to improve the road safety condition and offered to contribute some of the money the organization would raise into making this happen. But with every enthusiastic step I was ready to take, I was asked to hold back.
One day I came into the Forest Service office prepared to work with the Volunteer Coordinator on the Volunteer database when I was given surprise notification that I would be having a very big day because I was to do an interview with a News Reporter. They fitted me with a uniform and within two hours I was on camera doing my best. That interview turned into two news stories. For weeks after the stories aired, I was repeatedly instructed I should not have called the horses wild because they are feral. Finally, the District Ranger came to speak with me regarding this verbiage. I agreed to call them “horses” when I was in uniform and he offered I could say and do what I want when I was not in uniform. At this time, the District Ranger also told me I should know one option they are considering with the horses is rounding them up.
Soon after this conversation, and on one bright day, I met Jim Ripley who wrote what I consider the most wonderful article on the wild horses. There was no mention of the Forest Service in this article, but a few days after it was published I received a phone call from the Forest Service relieving me of my position as a volunteer because my reference to the horses as wild in Jim’s article was too politically charged.
On May 24, I had a phone conversation with Dave Stewart, Range Director from the Forest Service Regional Office, and asked why had the Range and Wildlife Director told me they were considering humanely managing the horses using PZP when their only goal is to get rid of the horses? Dave replied, they should be telling you what I’m telling you, “they need to take assertive measures to remove them if the Indians don’t claim them.”
If there is anything else I can do to assist you then please let me know.
YOU DECIDE.
Oh, and Forest Service, come get me… game on.
AND, IF YOU FEEL INSPIRED, PLEASE PASS THIS FORWARD.
Live long and prosper
HORSE AND MAN is a blog in growth… if you like this, please pass it around!
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Mon Jun 4, 2012 4:56 am (PDT)
Horse and Man
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REMEMBER CHAMP – THE STALLION WHO SAVED THE FILLY IN THE RIVER? Well… he and his herd are in trouble. Let’s help!
Posted: 04 Jun 2012 02:01 AM PDT
Do you remember the stallion who saved the filly in the river when she got in over her head? He pulled her to safety and the feat was recorded by a nearby human, Becky Standridge. In case you missed it, here is the blog about it.
Then, a few days later, I wrote about the Salt River Wild Horses again and told you all about their history… and gave you their FB page link.
Most of you probably remember this dramatic photo of Champ saving the filly... click image to read the story.
BAD NEWS FOR CHAMP AND HIS HERD – MEAT.
Well, as with most of the wild mustangs out there, their time has come to be rounded up -
Except this time it is worse because Champ’s herd is not classified as ‘wild’ so they are not protected under any laws.
They are classified as ‘feral’.
Feral means that they can be rounded up and sold for meat.
That’s it.
No one would ever know… the horses would be gathered and ‘poof’ – gone.
Fortunately, some individuals are very persistent and under the Freedom of Information Act, they have found out that Champ’s herd is headed down the path of no return.
Here he is... Champ. Wild and proud. A thinking stallion.
WE CAN.
How can Humans do away with this herd of horses? Obviously this herd (and every herd) loves and cares for one another – which is the only way I know how to express what I saw in those photos. Why are they not worth sharing the land? They aren’t starving and no humans live there…
I’m just sick about this.
Are you?
If so, take the time and make the call, write the email and send the letter.
I know, I know – no one has time anymore.
But this time, money isn’t what they need.
They need voices. They need humans to take the time to write and call and send.
Here is the story… straight from Becky who asked me if HORSE AND MAN readers could help Champ and his herd.
A new 2012 foal...
THEIR PLIGHT – WHAT HUMANS ARE DECIDING…
Press Release: For immediate release
Contact: Patricia Haight, Ph.D. (480) 593-4491
Becky Standridge: (480) 620-4490
PEOPLE ASKED TO HELP PREVENT REMOVAL & POSSIBLE SALE TO SLAUGHTER OF ARIZONA WILD HORSES WHOSE HISTORY TRACES TO 17TH CENTURY
DOCUMENTS OBTAINED UNDER FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA) INDICATE THAT THE US FOREST SERVICE MAY REMOVE HORSES FROM THE TONTO NATIONAL FOREST WITHOUT A PERIOD FOR PUBLIC COMMENT OR AN ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STUDY
The bond.
(Phoenix, AZ, June 2, 2012). The Conquistador Equine Rescue and Advocacy Program (CERAP), a 501c3 equine rescue and advocacy charity, has received material under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) indicating that the United States Forest Service (USFS) may be considering the imminent removal of unbranded, free-roaming wild horses living along the Salt River on the Tonto National Forest (TNF) near metropolitan Phoenix in Arizona.
Beautiful.
Among these horses is the world famous Champ, the amazing stallion that saved a filly from drowning. His video can be viewed at the link below: http://www.azcentral.com/12news/news/articles/2012/04/05/20120405arizona-wild-horse-rescue.html
Becky Standridge observes the horses regularly and reports that she has not seen Champ and his family for several weeks. A stallion belonging to Champ’s band was found shot to death. This video can be viewed at the link below:http://www.azcentral.com/video/1666316304001
The bachelors of the herd.
Standridge who has spoken with the USFS indicates that the USFS has disregarded her request for an investigation of the shooting because the USFS does not acknowledge that the horses are wild calling them “feral” or “trespass” horses. Therefore the agency does not take responsibility for managing them under the 1971 Wild Horse and Burro Act.
They are healthy and happy.
Documents received under FOIA also support that the TNF does not acknowledge that the horses are wild and thus protected under the 1971 Act. Asserting the horses are not unclaimed, unbranded free-roaming horses as defined under the Act, the TNF considers them “trespassing” on USFS land and may remove all of them. It is possible that the horses would be taken to the Pacific Livestock Auction near Phoenix where they are at great risk of being purchased by killer buyers to sell for slaughter. FOIA material demonstrates that officials of the TNF have had horses removed before without any public comment period or study under the National Environmental Protection Act, a requirement for removal of wild horses on USFS land. In one case, forest officials admitted in emails that five horses gathered from the Cave Creek ranger district probably were not “trespass” or “feral.” The horses were sent to the Pacific Livestock Auction. CERAP
was able to rescue the one foal with the herd of a stallion and his mares.
Lovely.
The origin of the Salt River Wild Horses can be found in historical documents that indicate the Spanish Missionary, Father Eusebio Kino, brought horses and other animals to the area in the 17th century. History also indicates that some additional horses came Conquistadors sent by Kino that arrived to help the Pima fight attacks from the Apache Indians. These wild horses have lived on the property that is now the Tonto National Forest before it was designated a National Forest. Witnesses have provided oral histories indicating the Salt River wild horses have been seen and photographed for decades in the TNF. One such photograph was printed in a 1957 issue of Arizona Highways. While the TNF claims the horses are “trespass horses” from the bordering Salt River-Pima Maricopa Community (SRPMIC) and the Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation, to the best of CERAP’s knowledge, the tribes have NOT claimed the horses.
Yes, we can help.
CERAP, working together with community members, is asking people to immediately telephone their United States Representative, both of their United States Senators, the Forest Supervisor for the Tonto National Forest and the Regional Director for Rangeland Management to tell them they do not want the horses of the Salt River in the Tonto National Forest removed. These horses are unbranded, unclaimed, free-roaming wild horses who are our living symbol of America’s freedom and the West. The horses are an indispensible part of our United States and Arizona history which must be protected so all future generations will have the privilege to be inspired and enjoy their beauty.
Slaughterbound.
WHAT YOU CAN DO – NOW! TODAY IS A GOOD DAY FOR THIS…
Who to contact: Please call your US Congressman and your US Senators to politely request they express their disapproval of the gathering and removal of the horses that live along the Salt River in the Tonto National Forest. To find contact information for US Congressmen and US Senators by State, by name, or by zip code, go to the link below (this URL is case sensitive and should be entered with a capital ‘C’ on Contact and a capital ‘E’ for Elected):http://www.usa.gov/Contact/Elected.shtml
Please place calls immediately to the following individuals, followed by emailing and/or faxing a letter to each:
Reta Laford, Deputy Forest Supervisor for the Tonto National Forest
Telephone: 602-225-5200
Fax: (602) 225-5295
TTY: (602) 225-5395
Address: 2324 E. McDowell Road, Phoenix, AZ 85006
Email: tonto_webmail@fs.fed.us
Dave Stewart, Regional Director of Rangeland Management
Telephone: 505-842-3224
Fax: 505-842-3292
TTY: 505-842-3198
Address: 333 Broadway Blvd SE, Albuquerque, NM 87102-3407
Email: dmstewart@fs.fed.us
Youngsters playing.
HOW WE CAN HELP TOMORROW…
If we are successful in temporarily halting the progress of this obliterating action, I will make a Bucket Fund for their legal representation. Hopefully, we will have the chance to help them financially… Hopefully, they will live long enough.
Ironic, isn’t it. Champ saved the filly from Mother Nature’s rising river, but he cannot save her from his worst natural disaster… humans.
PLEASE TAKE THE FEW MINUTES TO GIVE A VOICE TO THIS DESERVING FAMILY OF HORSES.
They are a family. We can help.
PLEASE FORWARD!
HORSE AND MAN is a blog in growth… if you like this, please pass it around!
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Please share this with everyone and we want not only Americans but

everyone in the world that cares about these horses to send an email, please!

AMERICANS CALLED TO ACTION TO PREVENT THE REMOVAL & POSSIBLE SALE TO SLAUGHTER

OF ARIZONA WILD HORSES WHOSE HISTORY TRACES TO 17TH CENTURY MISSIONARY

Documents obtained under Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) indicate that the US Forest Service may remove horses from the Tonto national Forest without period for public comment or environmental impact study (Phoenix, AZ May 31, 2012). The Conquistador Equine Rescue and Advocacy Program (CERAP), a 501c3 equine rescue and advocacy charity, has received material under the Freedom of Information Act indicating that the United States Forest Service (USFS) may be considering the imminent removal of

unbranded, free-roaming wild horses living along the Salt River on the Tonto National Forest (TNF) near metropolitan Phoenix in Arizona.

Documents received under FOIA indicate that the USFS does not acknowledge that the horses are wild and thus protected under the 1971 Wild Horse and Burro Act. Asserting the horses are not unclaimed, unbranded free-roaming horses as defined under the Act, the TNF considers them “trespassing” on USFS land and may remove all of them. It is possible that the horses would be taken to the Pacific Livestock Auction near Phoenix where they are at great risk of being purchased by killer buyers to sell for slaughter. FOIA material demonstrates that officials of the TNF have had horses removed before without any public comment period or study under the National Environmental Protection Act, a requirement for removal of wild horses on USFS land. In one case, forest officials admitted in emails that five horses gathered from the Cave Creek ranger district probably were not “trespass” or
“feral.” The horses were sent to the Pacific Livestock Auction. CERAP was able to rescue the one foal with the herd of a stallion and his mares.

Historical documents indicate that the Spanish Missionary, Father Eusebio Kino brought horses and other animals to the area in the 17th century. Oral histories by witnesses indicate that they have seen and photographed the horses for decades on the TNF and a picture shows three of these magnificent animals in a 1957 Arizona Highways Magazine. While the Tonto NF claims the horses are “trespass horses” from the bordering Salt River Pima Maricopa Nation and the Ft. McDowell Reservation, to the best of CERAP’s knowledge the tribes have NOT claimed the horses.

CERAP working together with community members is asking that people across the country immediately telephone their United States Representative, two United States Senators and the Forest Supervisor for the Tonto National Forest telling them they do not want the unbranded, free-roaming unclaimed wild horses living on the Tonto National Forest removed and that the horses, living symbols of the West, are a very important part of United States and Arizona history and a very important natural resource.

Fact sheet on who to contact:

To find contact information for US Congressmen and US Senators by State, by name, or by zip code, go to the link below:

(Note from Brandi: This is from a forward, so I don’t know anything more than what you see here.)

Take Action

Tell the BLM "No" to Wild Horse Removals In The Desatoya Mountains Area in Central Nevada

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is combining a wild horse roundup with a vegetation- and tree-killing project. The agency refers to this ill-conceived proposal as a "Habitat Resiliency, Health, and Restoration Project." Our friends at the Western Watershed Project describe it as a "massive deforestation and sagebrush/pinyon pine-killing scheme" that will also victimize wild horses.

Included is the removal of 450 to 525 horses from within and around the Desatoya Mountains Herd Management Area (HMA). Please take a minute to oppose the removal of wild horses from the Desatoya HMA and support environmentally-sound range management by

WordPress.com
New post on Canadian Horse Defence Coalition's Blog
Alberta Government Decimates Wild Horse Herds
by canadianhorsedefencecoalition
In a ruthless ploy to protect grasslands from wild horse herds that have roamed Alberta for centuries, the province's Sustainable Resource Department (SRD) has put a large dent in the population of horses living in the Sundre/Olds area of Alberta. According to Bob Hamilton of WHOAS (The Wild Horses of Alberta Society: http://northernhorse.com/wildhorses/), "Over 130 horses that we know about were taken." Evidently the government is so anxious to rid the province of these majestic wild horses that even its customary capture application and license process has been waived this year. The horses have been rounded up and many have gone to slaughter.
Why would the SRD think to rob wild horses of their land - and their lives? The usual answer in similar situations has been greed, and once again, the burgeoning needs and wants of ranchers seem to have been given the upper hand. Even with miles and miles of grassland rolling on farther than the eye can see, the wild Alberta horses, whose birthright would surely include the capacity to remain on those lands, have become the target of greed and corruption amongst ranchers and short-sighted government officials who are paranoid that the horses will somehow impact upon the livestock industry.
Only small herds of these iconic, breathtakingly beautiful horses now remain. If the ranchers and the government have their way, the wild horse herds of Alberta will become extinct. It is believed that these horses could be descendents of Spanish Mustangs, introduced from Spain during the early conquest of the Americas, but that doesn't seem to matter to those whose world revolves around profits.
The Alberta government needs to hear from citizens everywhere who are opposed to the mindless roundups and killing of these horses. Please consider contacting the following officials with your concerns:
Hon. Frank Oberle
Minister of Sustainable Resource Development
Legislature Office
420 Legislature Building
10800 – 97 Avenue NW
Edmonton, AB
Canada T5K 2B6
Phone: (780) 415-4815
Fax: (780) 415-4818
E-mail: SRD.minister@gov.ab.ca
Premier Alison Redford
307- Legislature Bldg
10800-97 Ave
Edmonton, AB
T5K 2B1
Ph.: (780)-427-2251
E-mail contact form: http://alberta.ca/premier_contact.cfmcanadianhorsedefencecoalition | March 13, 2012 at 22:10 | Categories: Uncategorized | URL: http://wp.me/pUJ26-Lr
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Wed Feb 22, 2012 1:58 pm (PST)
Please sign the petitions and share.
Dear Marge, February 22, 2012
If you are having trouble viewing this email, please click here.
Take Action
Please Oppose Another Mustang Roundup in the Challis (ID) HMA
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is planning another roundup of wild horses in the remote Challis Mountains in Idaho. The action will take place three years after the capture of 366 wild horses in this area in a 2009 roundup that killed at least 11 mustangs. The BLM allows just 185 wild horses to live in the Challis Herd Management Area (HMA), while authorizing at least five times as many cattle to graze there. Please take action today to oppose another roundup at Challis by clicking here or below. (Photo of Challis mare and foal before the 2009 roundup by Elissa Kline.)
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Reminder: Speak Up for Burros in Arizona
Earlier this month, we told you about the BLM's proposal for a massive burro roundup in the southwestern part of Arizona on the California border. If you have not done so yet, please take a moment to oppose this ill-conceived roundup, which aims to remove 350 burros and return of 50 castrated Jacks (male burros) to the range. Please click here or below to oppose this misguided plan.
Feature
Obama Proposes Small Increase to 2013 Grazing Fee
President Obama’s proposed 2013 Interior Department budget includes a tiny bit of good news for western public lands: a $1 increase in the fee charged for livestock grazing on BLM-managed rangeland.
The fee, which ranchers must pay to “utilize” forage on lands belonging to the American public, is assessed by the “Animal Unit Month.” (1 AUM equals the amount of forage necessary to feed one cow/calf pair or five sheep for a month). The Obama Administration proposal would raise the fee from $1.35 per AUM (the lowest allowable by law) to $2.35 per AUM.
The modest fee increase has public lands ranchers screaming, but the total grazing fee still does not come close to covering the cost of administering the federal grazing program, and the fee is still a fraction of the going market rate for grazing on private lands. As wild horse advocates well know, wild horses, wildlife and the American taxpayers remain victims of the Welfare Ranching program, but the Obama Administration proposal to raise the grazing fee is a small step in the right direction. Read more by clicking here or below.
News
Investigative Journalists Continue to Expose BLM Mustang Mismanagement and Hidden Agendas
Two recent, hard-hitting media stories have exposed bad faith and mismanagement in the BLM's wild horse and burro program.
In his piece, The Lasso Tightens Around America's Wild Horses, award-winning journalist Andrew Cohen writes on TheAtlantic.com of the BLM's appointment of a pro-slaughter cattlewoman to represent the interests of the "general public" on the BLM's Wild Horse and Burro Advisory Board. And in a two-part television news story, award-winning journalist George Knapp of KLAS-TV in Las Vegas profiles Philanthropist Madeleine Pickens' Battle to Save Nevada's Wild Horses in the face of opposition by local ranchers and intransigence on the part of the BLM. Kudos to both reporters for staying on this story and exposing the forces behind the destruction of America's wild horse herds.
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AWHPC Founding Sponsor Honored for Support of Wild Horse Campaign
AWHPC founding sponsor, Road Ranger, recently received a well-deserved honor -- the Convenience Retailing Award for community leadership. Not only does Road Ranger provide AWHPC with critical financial support, but also the company involves its customers in the fight to save America's mustangs by publicizing the campaign and distributing literature at its 80 service stations and convenience stores throughout the Midwest. AWHPC extends our sincere congratulations to Road Ranger for this award and our sincere gratitude to everyone at the company for the financial, grassroots and moral support! Be sure to like Road Ranger on Facebook and read more about the award by clicking here or below.
The American Wild Horse Preservation Campaign (AWHPC) is dedicated to preserving the American wild horse in viable free-roaming herds for generations to come, as part of our national heritage. Supported by a coalition of over 40 organizations, its grassroots campaign seeks:
* A suspension of roundups in all but verifiable emergency situations while the entire BLM wild horse program undergoes objective and scientific review;
Help expand the grassroots network of citizens willing to speak up for mustangs & burros! ...
Help support our work!
Spread the word through social media!...
FiVisit our coalition partners....
Learn about AWHPC's founding sponsor.

Action Alert: National Protest Day for Wild Horses
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National Wild Horse & Burro
Protest Day
March 1, 2012
Dear Friends of Cloud and the Wild Horses;
I fear for our wild horses that have been captured and are now in government holding facilities. Why has Secretary Salazar appointed yet another pro horse slaughter person to the BLM’s National Wild Horse and Burro Advisory Board?
Please read the following, mark your calendars, and on March 1st act to block the appointment of this latest threat to all captive wild horses.
Happy Trails!
Ginger
Safe in the wild, Cloud enjoys a foggy morning.
On Thursday, March 1, 2012:
Join thousands of concerned and caring Americans around the country.
Protest Interior Secretary Ken Salazar’s appointment of Callie Hendrickson to the BLM National Wild Horse and Burro Advisory Board[1] representing the General Public.
Background: Callie Hendrickson is the Executive Director of the White River and Douglas Creek Conservation Districts representing ranching interests, many of whom have permits to run livestock on public lands in northwestern Colorado. The organization successfully petitioned to become an intervenor on the side of BLM to completely remove the West Douglas Creek Wild Horse Herd on the Western Slope of Colorado.
a.. Ms. Hendrickson supports the sale without limitation of all unadopted wild horses to the highest bidder (including slaughter buyers)
a.. Ms. Hendrickson will speak at the second pro-slaughter conference (Summit of the Horse) in Oklahoma City this spring. (Sue Wallis' creation.)
Does Callie Hendrickson represent you? If your answer is NO, then please call, fax, and email Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar and politely, but firmly ask that Callie Hendrickson’s appointment to the Advisory Board be rescinded immediately.
Tell the Secretary that she does not represent you or the 80% of the General Public opposed to horse slaughter[2].
Number to Call: (202) 208-3100
Number to Fax: (202) 208-6956
Address to Email: feedback@ios.doi.gov
--
[1] The nine-member BLM Wild Horse and Burro Advisory Board recommends management strategies to the BLM. Hendrickson would join Jim Stephenson (appointed June 2011) on the Board. Stephenson openly advocates for horse slaughter. BLM has discussed killing wild horses in holding since at least 2008. With Hendrickson, they may have just the Board they want —a Board that could recommend to BLM that they dispose of the wild horses in holding.
[2] A recent nationwide poll reveals that 80% of Americans oppose the slaughter of U.S. horses for human consumption. The survey shows that Amerricans in all parts of the country, regardless of their gender, political affiliation, whether they live in an urban or rural area, or whether they own horses or not, are against the slaughtering of our nation’s equines. The survey was sponsored by the ASPCA and conducted by Lake Research Partners.
You are receiving this email because you have asked to be on our e-mail list. If you have received this e-mail in error, please unsubscribe. We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience!
Our mailing address is:
The Cloud Foundation 107 South 7th St Colorado Springs, CO 80905
Our telephone:
719-633-3842
Copyright (C) 2008 The Cloud Foundation All rights reserved.
Forward this email to a friend

We won on all counts!!
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The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has found in favor of plaintiff Laura Leigh, a Horseback Magazine photojournalist, against the federal Bureau of Land Management in a major First Amendment press access case. Leigh was represented by Reno attorney Gordon Cowan. She is unaware of the victory because she is currently attempting to observe a BLM wild horse roundup in a remote region near Tonopah, Nevada outside of communication range.
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Horseback Magazine | PO Box 681397 | Houston | TX | 77268

Silver Springs Weanling Center Opens

We need to see more of this for our wildhorses!Check it out!:

A project dreamed up by Ron Brayton, an employee at the Wal-Mart Distribution Center at the Tahoe Reno Industrial Center, officially opened its corral gates on Wednesday in Silver Springs. The purpose of the project is to provide "continuing education" for orphaned mustang foals that are brought in off the range and from holding facilities. This project is a joint venture of Least Resistance Training Concepts (LRTC,) the Let 'Em Run Foundation and Wal-Mart's "Volunteerism Always Pays" community outreach program. Through the VAP program, Wal-Mart provides financial assistance to qualifying non-profit projects in which Wal-Mart employees participate as volunteers.
The water tank at Wal-Mart Distribution Center No. 7048. "Horse friendly" and "team driven."

The need for this project has been self-evident. Two groups, LRTC and Wild Horse Organized Assistance, have historically been the only organizations in the region equipped to provide critical care for orphaned mustangs. In the past two years the two groups received 43 injured and orphaned mustang foals. Caring for orphaned foals, some which are newborns, is labor intensive and the foals become extremely human-dependent. This dependance can produce undesirable psychological issues when they grow older if they haven't learned that they are horses, how to appropriately interact with people when they are no longer receiving constant attention, and how to successfully interact socially with other horses. Unfortunately, when orphan foal caregivers become swamped with critical care foals there isn't much time to provide necessary social development experiences.
The Braytons recognized this problem and encouraged the development of a project that would provide basic training for weanling age foals. The project's objective is to create an atmosphere where the foals can more successfully adjust to a typical adoption environment and where they can learn to socialize and interact successfully with other horses. Since orphans would not likely survive if turned out into the range, it is critical that they be emotionally prepared to thrive with adopters. The ultimate objective is for any adoption experience to be a positive one for both the horse and adopter.
The first arrivals - Sassafras (Sassy) and Valentina (Tina,) "graduates" from orphan care.

Checking out a spacious new corral.

Visiting with their soon to be "mentor horses," one that was a former neglect rescue.

While the orphan foal project has historically involved collaboration and support from a broad consortium of horse groups, this particular project could have not gotten off the ground without the efforts of the Braytons, Wal-Mart employees and the Let 'Em Run Foundation coming on board as a partner organization.
This project is still under development. Updates will be posted as this project matures.
":O) Willis

Proudly announcing the publication of a pivotal book for America’s wild horses and burros that has been over 4 years in preparation.
THE WILD HORSE CONSPIRACY
by Craig C. Downer, Wildlife Ecologist and Author
(Date of Publication: 1/18/2012)
This stirring and amply illustrated, 300-page book fully justifies America’s magnificent wild horses and burros while countering the biased machinations against them. Written by an ecologist who grew up observing these animals in the West, it presents new evidence concerning their history and evolution in North America then describes their many positive contributions to soils, plants, animals and people. Though true restorers of this continent’s ecosystem, they have been unfairly targeted for elimination. Over the centuries, they have borne our burdens and helped us along life’s way—which makes it doubly unfair that they should be blamed for what we humans have done. As always, they stand ready to help us do the hard work now so desperately needed to restore our shared home. Many of the author’s personal experiences with these animals, their diverse herd areas, and the multicolored people involved with them are herein vividly
shared. Urgently required now at the 40th anniversary of the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act is a strategy to reverse the negative schemes that are causing their demise the wild. As described, Reserve Design provides a way for establishing self-stabilizing populations through intelligent and caring programs executed with enthusiasm. Their lesson for humanity concerns how to share freedom and the land with such paragons of nature. Soaring beyond mundane pettiness and with an inspired vision for the future of all life, the elevated perspective and compassionate spirit of this book will prove key to accomplishing its critical goal. In the wild the vigor of any kind is preserved. And the entire horse family—as the Earth itself—needs America’s wild horses and burros to continue at vital levels into the future here in their evolutionary cradle and worldwide.
The author has defended wild horses/burros against attacks for over 40 years and observed many of the West’s colorful herds. He has also studied the endangered mountain tapir and is president of the Andean Tapir Fund, also dedicated to saving wild horses/burros (www.andeantapirfund.com). A member of the IUCN Species Survival Commission and board member of The Cloud Foundation, he has written popular and scientific articles and books, including action plans for endangered species, enjoys nature photography and musical composition, lives in Nevada, and is proud companion of mustangs Lightning, a palomino stallion, and Princess Diane, his curly mare, both of whom he knew in the wilds of NW Nevada before they were captured by BLM in 2010.
To order Craig’s groundbreaking book, make out and send $25 (which includes taxes, shipping & handling) either to Andean Tapir Fund (as a tax-deductible contribution to this 501 c 3 organization) or to Craig C. Downer, both at P.O. Box 456, Minden, NV 89423-0456 USA. Alternatively, you may use PayPal to purchase the book by calling up www.andeantapirfund.com and clicking on PayPal. To order more than one book, please pay $20 per book for up to 5 books, $15 for over 10 books (which includes taxes, shipping & handling). For any questions or to arrange for a speaking, picture showing and book signing event, write the author at the above address, or call (775) 267-3484 or (775) 901-2094 or email ccdowner@aol.com (ccdowner @ aol.com).

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New post on Tuesday's Horse
$500 reward offered to find wild horse harassing youths
by Vivian Grant
Cross-posted from the Reno Gazette-Journal A Dayton, NV based wild horse advocate group is offering a $500 reward for information that would lead to the arrest and conviction of youths that allegedly chased a band of wild horses in the Stagecoach Valley on Dec. 28, ultimately causing the stallion to break its leg and be [...]
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Vivian Grant | Jan 13, 2012 at 8:01 am | Tags: dayton, mustang abuse, mustang deaths, nevada, wild horse preservation league, wild horses | Categories: wild horses | URL: http://wp.me/p6VVi-4FI
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New post on Straight from the Horse's Heart
The Shame of the BLM
by R.T. Fitch
Forty years ago this week, the American people spoke with one voice on an issue that clearly touched the heart of the nation. The Wild Horse and Burro Act was signed into law, over the objections of the powerful cattle industry. Congress was flooded with more letters and telegrams about wild mustangs than for any other issue save the Vietnam War. They insisted that wild horses must be preserved on public lands. That demand became law.
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R.T. Fitch | December 17, 2011 at 7:40 AM | Tags: BLM, Bureau of Land Management, Cruelty to animals, George Knapp, Horse, Nevada, wild burro, Wild Horse | Categories: Horse News, The Force of the Horse, Wild Burros, Wild Horses/Mustangs | URL: http://wp.me/pyapj-3vK
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Wed Nov 30, 2011 1:26 pm (PST)
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New post on Art and Horses (Laura Leigh's Blog)
RIP “Wild Thing”
by Laura Leigh
Yesterday a mare broke her neck and was euthanized.
She was the last horse to load after receiving PZP-22 and was agitated and broke her neck on the panel. Story coming to Horseback magazine soon.
link to "gather" report: http://www.blm.gov/nv/st/en/fo/wfo/blm_programs/wild_horses_and_burros/TriState_Calico/gatreports.html
The young grulla mare was a beauty and full of spirit. RIP little "Wild Thing."
"Wild Thing" during branding and PZP treatment
Please donate to keep observations going if you can. Calico will go on through the end of the year and without you this work can't continue.
Laura Leigh | November 30, 2011 at 12:27 pm | Categories: Uncategorized | URL: http://wp.me/pOAos-Nq
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Tue Nov 29, 2011 4:14 am (PST)
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New post on Wild Horse Education
Carelessness….
by Laura Leigh
There are several disturbing reoccurring issues with this contractor. From water, feed and pilot conduct. To access to witness actions facing further restrictions. Many revolve around simple carelessness.
This horse was driven into a chute that had the side panel open. He makes a break but the neck rope is in place. The struggle is impressive and on video. The contractors that should be on the opposite side of the chute are not present and the one wrangler is left to call for help.
Video will be up by Wednesday evening. I have to prep for tomorrow. Please donate to help this documentation of the management practices of BLM and their chosen contractors to continue.
11-28 Calico
Carelessness could have been a disaster
Laura Leigh | November 28, 2011 at 10:58 pm | Categories: Calico Complex | URL: http://wp.me/p1sfxY-cg
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New post on Straight from the Horse's Heart
BLM Continues Cruel Treatment of Captured Wild Horses in Utah
by R.T. Fitch
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah (November 11, 2011) – The Cloud Foundation (TCF) has received a report from wild horse advocate, Lisa Friday, regarding the conditions of two Bureau of Land Management (BLM) wild horse holding facilities in Utah. Friday was following up on the wild horses she found living in squalor at the Herriman holding facility outside Salt Lake, who have been moved to other facilities in the state. Despite finding the horses living in clean pens with plenty of hay, Friday's report contains stills and video which reveal more inhumane treatment of wild horses.
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R.T. Fitch | November 11, 2011 at 10:59 PM | Tags: BLM, Bureau of Land Management, cloud foundation, Cruelty to animals, Horse, Wild Horse | Categories: Horse Health, Horse News, Wild Burros, Wild Horses/Mustangs | URL: http://wp.me/pyapj-3rm
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Sat Nov 5, 2011 4:49 pm (PDT)
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New post on Straight from the Horse's Heart
Another Study Verifies Wild Horses in North America Eons Ago
by R.T. Fitch
The genetic history of six large herbivores -- the woolly rhinoceros, woolly mammoth, wild horse, reindeer, bison, and musk ox -- has shown that both climate change and humans were responsible for the extinction or near extinction of large mammal populations within the last 10,000 years. The study, which is the first to use genetic, archeological, and climatic data together to infer the population history of large-bodied Ice Age mammals, will be published in the journal Nature.
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R.T. Fitch | November 5, 2011 at 6:40 AM | Tags: Climate change, Horse, Ice age, University of Copenhagen, Wild Horse | Categories: Horse News, Wild Burros, Wild Horses/Mustangs | URL: http://wp.me/pyapj-3pQ
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Sun Oct 30, 2011 11:02 pm (PDT)
Judge: BLM Must Respond to Inhumane Handling Allegations
by: Pat Raia
October 11 2011, Article # 18949
A federal court judge has ordered the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to respond to allegations that certain mustang handling procedures are inhumane. The order stems from an amended complaint seeking an injunction permanently prohibiting the BLM from engaging in inhumane conduct toward wild horses removed during the gathers at the the Triple B, Maverick-Medicine, and Antelope Valley Herd Management Areas in Nevada and the Cherry Springs Wild Horse Territory, in Nevada.
On Aug. 24 wild horse advocate Laura Leigh, vice president of the Wild Horse Freedom Federation (WHFF), filed a complaint and a companion temporary restraining order asking the U.S. District Court, Nevada District to stop the gather on grounds that during roundups animals in holding facilities lack water, are inappropriately fed, and that helicopter pilots fly dangerously close to exhausted animals during roundups.
On Aug. 30 U.S. District Court Judge Howard McKibben declined to prevent the BLM from completing the gather, but issued a temporary restraining order banning any mistreatment of mustangs during BLM gathers. The order was connected to an Aug. 11 video of the roundup depicting a helicopter striking a horse. McKibben agreed that the helicopter pilot flew too close to the animals in violation of the Wild Free-Roaming Horse and Burro Act of 1971.
According to Leigh, during the temporary restraining order hearing, McKibben said he would hold the complaint for injunctive relief and consider the ruling identical unless he received significant information that a hearing was necessary.
On Sept. 8, after documenting the BLM procedures and public access restrictions during the agency's Barren Valley Complex mustang gather, Leigh filed an amended complaint alleging that BLM roundup conduct observed at the Triple B gather was likely to occur during other gathers. The amended complaint asks the court to permanently order the BLM to prevent pilots of helicopters used in the gathers from flying "dangerously close" to animals. It also asks the court to order the agency to provide sufficient amounts of water and feed for mustangs gathered and residing in holding areas. Finally, the amended complaint seeks a court order compelling the BLM to create and publish specific standards for the humane handling of wild horses and burros during gathers.
On Sept. 23 BLM Director Bob Abbey announced that a team composed of agency personnel would review existing agency procedures used at the Triple B gather relative to the alleged instances of animal abuse including those depicted in the video. The review team is scheduled to report its findings on Oct. 12.
On Oct. 6 McKibben ordered the BLM to answer humane treatment issues.
Tom Gorey, BLM spokesman, said the agency had no comment on the order.
Leigh was glad McKibben ordered that the agency reply to the humane claims: "Set standards with consequence for violations is long overdue."

Wed Oct 5, 2011 4:59 am (PDT)
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New post on Art and Horses (Laura Leigh's Blog)
Triple B horses, adoption event, already
by Laura Leigh
The horses taken from Triple B are hitting the adoption program or shipping already to long term. That's how fast this happens folks. https://www.blm.gov/adoptahorse/onlinegallery.php?horseCategory=297
You can go to the Internet adoption site. (Horses listed as Maverick-Medicine are also "Triple B." )
On that page you will see age, color, capture date and place... but nothing at all about the horse. Nothing at all.

Most of the horses have no bids in an auction that has gotten no press... as BLM's new "head," Guilfoyle, does PR release after release with her new energy stooge reporter from Greenwire, Phil Taylor. Does she mention once that the horses from the roundup supposedly being "investigated" are up for adoption? Does she tell you somewhere in that mix are the babies that survived and the horse that we saw that was actually hit? No.
But I'll tell you.
They look at you... like they don't know what has happened. Some look at you with curiosity because you are not trying to move them or process them... but sit there quite. Some are so bored that they come to smell you and see what you are. Others stand there and wait for you to run at them or yell to move them.... some just don't seem to care.
A few still have family members near... and the bonds are strong.
These two... now called "4517" and "4617" are bonded. Neither has a bid. "4517," the little bay, is more dominant... and very brave. "4617" followed closely as her buddy came to say "hi" to me... and then followed suit. Both horses are built well. There will be no mention that these two should go to a new home together... no mention that the stresses they have been through should be minimized to ease transition into man's world... no mention.
Horses at PVC on the Internet adoption site
I will tell you more tomorrow about these horses... but I need to get some sleep.
These horses were taken in a brutal summer roundup. These horses were held in a facility where I had to argue to get them water... these horses were taken in a roundup where "Humane care" became the subject of a Federal Lawsuit....
They will slip through BLM's processing mentality that will do NOTHING to promote them as unique beings suitable for relationship... each and every one of them matters... even if they are not "showcase horses" like the Kigers... that adoption event is being promoted and "worked." BLM is NOT a "National Program," and is riddled with prejudice... "desert rats" and "canners" just don't rate.
Yes.... I'm cranky. I look at these pictures and remember them free.... and then see the way they were treated at the roundup...
I'll write more tomorrow....
Laura Leigh | October 5, 2011 at 12:21 am | Categories: Uncategorized | URL: http://wp.me/pOAos-K3
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Washington, D.C. (October 4, 2011) – Earlier this year the Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) was honored to announce the exclusive release of the Rolling Stones’ classic "Wild Horses" - performed and produced by the legendary Willie Nelson and his family members. Now, Willie & The Nelson Family have followed up with the release of a video for the song featuring Willie, his daughter Paula, son Lukas and many others from the Nelson family. The video, filmed and produced by Luck Films, was shot at Willie’s ranch in Luck, Texas and features
some of the over 40 horses, both wild and domestic, that Willie has helped rescue from slaughter. Willie & The Nelson Family are donating the proceeds from the sale of the song to AWI’s campaigns on behalf of wild and domestic horses. Willie and the entire Nelson family are long-time supporters of AWI and its efforts to end horse slaughter and preserve the right of wild horses to roam free.

"The BLM has been rounding them up at an alarming rate, supposedly for their own good. Sadly, there are more wild horses in holding pens than in the wild. Something is wrong with that, so we must act now before the BLM has managed these magnificent animals into extinction," said Willie Nelson. "It’s time for the cowboys to stand up for the horses."

The Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act was enacted in 1971 to halt the disappearance of these iconic animals from public lands in the American West. Since then, however, over 21 million acres of land set aside by Congress for wild horses have been removed from their range, even as the Bureau of Land Management (BLM)—the very agency charged with their protection—claims there is not enough land to support existing herds. The BLM is unnecessarily removing horses based on spurious claims of damage to range and other adverse impacts. The BLM’s mismanagement of America’s wild horses is largely designed to benefit a livestock industry that has, for decades, exploited western public lands while profiting from massive subsidies funded by taxpayer dollars. Willie & The Nelson Family and AWI are calling on the BLM and the Obama administration to immediately halt all wild horse round-ups, restore the land
provided by law to wild horses and stop warehousing horses on private lands at even greater expense to the taxpayer.

"There is no greater voice than Willie Nelson when it comes to speaking for the underdog. For decades, Willie has fought to protect family farmers in America, while also advocating for the humane treatment of horses and other animals," said Chris Heyde, deputy director of government and legal affairs for AWI. "We are so grateful for the support of Willie and the entire Nelson family and we hope this song will raise awareness of the deteriorating situation facing wild horses and help turn things around before they disappear from their lands forever."

For more information about the problems facing wild horses and what can be done to improve BLM’s wild horse program, please visit www.awionline.org/wildhorses.

To download your very own copy of Willie & The Nelson Family singing “Wild Horses,” please visit www.awionline.org/willienelson today! You can download a copy from your favorite service such as iTunes, Amazon and CD Baby. Join us in our effort to save America’s wild and domestic horses before it is too late! Be sure to share this release with your local radio station and encourage them to play the song for America's wild horses.

This is extremely disturbing and discussing! Please read the report!
Here you can read the very sad, personal testimony of the Parks Complex Director, Peace Officer and other operations staff at the park. Also, you can read the disturbing account of Mike Hill who was then Region 1 Director for TWPD and participated in the killings of 71 burros for which he kept records, more burros were killed but without keeping track. Since then they killed another 46 that we know of. Their staff estimated in May, 2008 (after the 71+ killings) that there were 300-500 burros in the park. We hope there are more than 300 remaining. Park's has NOT done a population survey of the wild burros, they keep track of dead burros not live ones.http://www.saveourwildhorses.org/PDF/Herd-Stat/BurroInfo/BigBend-TX/BigBendIAReport_11-07.pdfwww.saveourwildhorses.org
Marge

The following announcement was received today via a press release from the American Association of Equine Practitioners (AAEP). The AAEP reaches more than 5 million horse owners through its over 10,000 members worldwide and is actively involved in ethics issues, practice management, research and continuing education in the equine veterinary profession and horse industry.

The American Association of Equine Practitioners’ Bureau of Land Management Task Force today released its evaluation and recommendations for improving the care and handling of the nation’s wild horses. The report comes at the request of the Bureau of Land Management, which asked the AAEP in June 2010 to evaluate the handling, health care, and welfare of the horses and burros at BLM wild equid gathers and holding facilities.

Mon Aug 22, 2011 4:40 am (PDT)
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BLM, if you are going to LIE
Laura Leigh | August 21, 2011 at 10:50 pm | Categories: Uncategorized | URL: http://wp.me/pOAos-I3
At least make it a challenge to catch you.
And if you want to lame this on poor communication, again... you really need to fire everyone in that loop.
BLM>Nevada>District Offices>Ely District Office>Gather Reports
Print Page
Ely District Office
Triple B, Maverick-Medicine and Antelope Valley Herd Management Areas Wild Horse Gather
---
Gather Reports
Date/2011 Comments
Saturday,
Aug 20 Summary: The BLM gathered 35 horses today. The BLM did not ship horses this morning.
Animals gathered: 35 (11 studs, 17 mares, 7 foals)
It was observed that a foal was orphaned and was laying down while in holding. It has since paired up with a blue roan mare, and was nursing the mare when staff left for the afternoon.
It was also observed that contractors had difficulty loading an uncooperative mare into the trailer at holding. Both CORs reported that a cold (not charged) hotshot was used to load the mare. The mare eventually cooperated and was loaded into the trailer, without being shocked.
Gather related animal deaths: 0
Cause: None
Non-gather related animal deaths: 0
Cause: None
Temperature Status: Low of 58, high of 80 degrees.
Weather Forecast:
Sunday and Monday - Sunny with a high near 86 degrees.
--
The mare was NOT that difficult. She was also not loading into a trailer... at least that one. I'm sure the hotshot was used more than once that day.
AND there was no BLUE ROAN in the pen. NOT ONE.
I also have pics of "Junior" coming in off the range... wanna post a pic of mom and I'll post my pics? You show me yours and I'll show you mine?
Video am.
I'm fighting with the internet connection and need to sleep.
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Wild Burro Shooting Texas Parks and Wildlife to hold Annual Public Hearing
R.T. Fitch | August 22, 2011 at 6:36 AM | Tags: Bureau of Land Management, burro, Hunting, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, wild burro | Categories: Horse News, Wild Horses/Mustangs | URL: http://wp.me/pyapj-3cJ
Wild Horse Freedom Federation's (WHFF) Director of Wild Burro Affairs, Marjorie Farabee has brought to our attention that this week the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) will be holding an annual hearing. It is interesting to note that with all of the controversy swirling around the TPWD's policy of shooting wild burros on sight there is no mention of them or their policy on the proposed agenda, Marjorie intends to change that with your help.
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--- On Thu, 8/18/11, American Wild Horse Preservation Campaign <contact@wildhorsepreservation.org> wrote:
August 18, 2011
Speak Up for the Famed Wild Horses of the Pryor Mountains - Submit Comments Now!
BLM Proposes to Remove More Mustangs from Cloud's Herd
Just two years ago, the Interior Department Bureau of Land Management (BLM) conducted a controversial helicopter roundup in the Pryor Mountain Wild Horse Range, permanently removing 52 wild horses from their homes on public lands on the border of Montana and Wyoming. The Pryor Mountains are home of the famed wild stallion Cloud and a herd prized for its Spanish colonial ancestry.
Now the agency is proposing to remove more mustangs from the Pryor Mountains in 2012. The BLM is not specifying the number of horses who will be targeted, but the sudden removal of a large number of wild horses from this already small population could have negative impacts on the health of this nationally significant herd.
This area of the Pryor Mountains is specifically designated as a national wild horse range, one of just three in the country, and as such it should be managed according to the highest standards. Please get your scoping comments in today to ensure that the BLM considers alternatives to the proposed removal of wild horses from the Pryor Mountains, including measures to accommodate the current number of wild horses remaining there and re-open seasonal access to traditional grazing grounds in the Custer National Forest, which were fenced off from the horses last year.
--

AWHPC's Lawsuit to Stop Castration of Free-Roaming Wild Stallions "Won" According to Federal Court Judge
AWHC was successful with its lawsuit to stop the BLM from proceeding with the castration of 177 free-roaming stallions in the White Mountain and Little Colorado Herd Management Areas (HMAs) in Wyoming. In addition, AWHPC commissioned (thanks to a generous donor) a range report on the White Mountain/Little Colorado HMAs which outlines that the upcoming roundup scheduled to begin this Saturday, August 20, 2011, is unnecessary.
In her court order dismissing the case, U.S. District Court Judge Amy Berman Jackson noted that we had "won" by forcing the BLM to back off the gelding plan. On behalf of AWHPC and our co-plaintiffs Western Watersheds Project, photographer Carol Walker and Greg and Donna Duckworth, our attorney, Katherine Meyer of Meyer, Glitzenstein and Crystal made clear to the court and to the BLM that we are prepared to challenge any similar castration plans as a serious violation of federal law.
AWHPC continues to closely monitor BLM decisions for upcoming roundups. The BLM recently clarified that there would be no castration of free-roaming stallions during the Barren Valley roundup in southeastern Oregon.
If you come across any newly issued Decision Records or BLM requests for public comments on proposed roundups please be sure to forward them to us at contact@wildhorsepreservation.org.
AWHPC Founding Sponsor Advocacy Sponsor
The American Wild Horse Preservation Campaign (AWHPC) is dedicated to preserving the American wild horse in viable free-roaming herds for generations to come, as part of our national heritage. Supported by a coalition of over 40 organizations, its grassroots campaign seeks:
* A suspension of roundups in all but verifiable emergency situations while the entire BLM wild horse program undergoes objective and scientific review;
* Higher Appropriate Management Levels (AML) for wild horses on those rangelands designated for them;
* Implementation of in-the-wild management, which would keep wild horses on the range and save taxpayers millions of dollars annually by avoiding the mass removal and stockpiling wild horses in government holding facilities.www.WildHorsePreservation.org
You are subscribed to the American Wild Horse Preservation Campaign's email list. You can unsubscribe here.
Also of Note...
Update on Twin Peaks Litigation
Earlier this week, a Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals panel dismissed as "moot" an appeal to stop the Twin Peaks roundup which took place last summer. The sole dissenting judge on the three-judge panel pointed out that a remedy still existed should the roundup be deemed illegal. This remedy involves return of captured horses - currently in BLM holding facilities - to the range. However, the two other judges on the panel decided that the appeal of the roundup was "moot" given that the action had already taken place.
On the positive side, the court noted that the plaintiffs (In Defense of Animals and Dreamcatcher's Wild Horse Sanctuary) had raised serious questions on substantive provisions of the law protecting the wild horses. The Twin Peaks litigation continues in district court. Read more about the case here.
Triple B Roundup Continues
Photo by Laura Leigh
The largest wild horse roundup of the summer is still underway in the Triple B Complex in northeastern Nevada. Since July 20, the BLM has captured 1,046 wild horses from this one million acre range. Nine horses have been killed in the roundup, the majority of them young foals.
AWHPC's Deniz Bolbol observed the Triple B roundup for eight days and has posted new video documenting the incompetence of the BLM roundup contractor and the cruelty of the roundup, as evidenced in the relentless chase of a mare who had sustained a previous (but healed) leg injury and was subsequently killed by BLM after she was captured. View AWHPC's updates on the Triple B roundup, including BLM data as well as our field observations here.

This happened last month-wasn’t sure who hadn’t seen it yet.RIP beautiful wild ones!

Tue Aug 9, 2011 9:44 pm (PDT)
----- Original Message -----
From: TCourt5096@aol.com
Shocking inhumane treatment on American soil, far from the reform Robert Abbey promised.
When BAD IS THE NORM - just as that seems the constant motto of BLM values.
In light of recent and current tragic events surrounding the relentless and cruel round ups by BLM, we must pay homage to the victims of their inhumane mismanagement practices.
Unbelievable that this happens here, under the watch of all those who claim to make changes, create transparency, increase humane standards and mostly, keep fooling all of us with their ever repeating self-accommodating rhetoric. Betrayal in pictures, see below. http://teddyhilton.com/2011-08-09-video-scary-wild-horse-round-up?relate
Monika Courtney

Feds bust Utah horse-smuggling operation

“The federal Bureau of Land Management has busted an alleged wild-horse-smuggling ring that authorities believe was attempting to ship animals out of the country for slaughter.” See more at the link below.

Fri Aug 5, 2011 4:31 am (PDT)
WordPress.com New born foals left behind to die..........
Triple B- August 4
Laura Leigh | August 4, 2011 at 11:02 pm | Categories: Uncategorized | URL: http://wp.me/pOAos-GM
Back at Triple B.
An advocate came out to help and had serious health issues that took priority.
Considering the issues at Triple B... I came back.
Added an extra 4 hours of additional driving to an already long day to go to temporary. )and an extra half a tank of gas). Many of the issues are so unnecessary and sad.
It is almost 11. Just finished loading video and images... So I will get all of that to you tomorrow.
But want to kind of give you a flavor of the sense of frustration with this simple story in pictures.
We have all seen the issues with bands being broken during the drives. During foaling season this is even more of a problem Foals get left behind or separated from mom.
This band broke in two. Four members were chased around a hillside. Two were chased back. a foal and a grey. The grey was driven in. The foal roped. The other two ...? At temporary I saw the grey... it's a stud.
4 driven
2 driven back
grey driven in
foal chased (why? just spot from distance as runners come in)
foal roped
pregnant mare
I'm tired... much more to post... but if you have babies just weeks old and pregnant mares you have newborns out there. But no newborns are brought in.
BLM... it's foaling season. Your handbook prohibits roundups during foaling season... just because you say it is not foaling season doesn't make it the truth.
I am sorry I am posting so late but I will get video and more up tomorrow. The extra 4 hours to go to Temporary took it's toll.
If you can help with expenses: http://wildhorseeducation.org
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Wed Jul 27, 2011 5:09 pm (PDT)
WordPress.com Triple B_ Day 4
Laura Leigh | July 27, 2011 at 4:57 pm | Categories: Triple B, Wild Horse Education, Wild Horses | URL: http://wp.me/pOAos-G1
This is the last video that will be posted for a bit. Editing video takes an incredible amount of time. I will go back to archiving the video in case the documentation is required and posting still images. But I think this series of three days gives you an idea how frustrating this is. It will not give you a clear picture of the wear and tear on your vehicle, the damage done to your equipment or the toll it takes on your face.
Day 4 began at holding and the lame excuses about the medical treatment of these foals (that were now euthanized) set the tone. Sometimes my hands will shake from the stupidity. It is like being a teacher in Kindergarten... but the Kindergartners make the rules.
Yes, thew tone of this report is terse. But being with this contractor every day but two during Antelope and now watching this at Triple B is like chewing on tin foil.
I am usually very patient and quiet. I do my observations and reports. This time I am trying very hard not to allow the frustration to drive me.
On another front there may be some good news soon, but that will have to wait for another day. So pray that sanity can begin to take root somewhere.
Day 4 brought with it frustration after frustration.
It began with the excuses about water and food with no indication that anything would change. It continued with the absurd assertions about the injured foals.
At the trap the radio was again left so I could not hear anything until one time Heather Emmons left it loud enough that I could pick up a call. It was the pilot asking Alan Shepherd to glass a horse that could not keep up. I was given no further information as to the age or reason the horse could not keep up... and of course I was held to a position that did not allow me any observation.
The horses the pilot drove into the trap came in two groups.
Then 4 runners went out and the pilot. The pilot asked Shepherd the location and was told it should be right under you. It was apparently a bush.
I asked if I could go to the rise and look. I said that all eyes should be utilized. I was not granted permission nor was it denied. I stayed behind the tape. It is my belief that this agency attempts to push the limits of control until we are tempted to break them... only to utilize the unreasonable restraints against us.
After almost an hour of no information, BLM personnel reading newspapers, I asked to go give my dog water and check on him. That permission was granted. I hung out in the vehicle with the dog as it is much cooler there. I saw two runners beating it back to the trap so I went back to the observation area only to find out that the runners were coming back... not because they had found anything... but because the pilot was driving horses to the trap.
Shepherd had given the authorization for resources to abandon the search and begin operations. The other two runners also returned to the trap. I expressed my outrage in no uncertain terms and informed personnel that I had called people from my vehicle and the public knew they had stopped looking. I informed them I was not leaving until the horse was located.
After the drive Heather was called down to speak with Alan.
Miraculously the horse that had now been missing for over an hour and a half had been found. It had "run back home" and hooked up with a stud. A trailer went down the road and in less than ten minutes came back... with a load that looked much like it did when it left.
As I am not permitted to travel the same road as the trailer it would take me about an hour longer to reach holding. I would not see this animal unload.
The animal was allegedly a 4 month old that was so deformed it couldn't run correctly and was euthanized. The same animal that ran almost to the trap and back again...
Have you pulled out all your hair yet? Have you gritted your teeth so badly that you have broken molars? Have you bitten your lip so hard it bleeds? Have you vowed to god you will not allow this "spoiled child agency" to continue without challenge... no matter what it takes?
If you can help me with expenses please donate to http://wildhorseeducation.org
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Tue Jul 26, 2011 7:31 am (PDT)
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Triple B_Day 3 Part 2
Laura Leigh | July 26, 2011 at 7:22 am | Categories: Uncategorized | URL: http://wp.me/pOAos-FM
At the roundup we had runners go off with no explanation. We had a baby come in that I could see was injured.
So I added an extra two hours of driving to my day and headed to holding.
There I saw three youngsters treated for injury. I do not know how many were treated prior to my arrival. (note: it is interesting that I asked about the injuries and am only given information I the treatment I actually saw with no other information offered. It always seems like "If they don't see it, it didn't happen").
A big bay stud and his band have really hit me hard. He was in the last group (or at least the last group I knew of). One of his foals (the only one that came in with his band) was injured. They put his mare and injured foal in the pen next to him. He kept all the other horses from the fence line. He called to them non-stop while I was there. He was there at the fence line when I arrived in the morning. I was pretty upset by some comments Alan Shepherd made so I got a few quick takes and did not get one of his calls as they began to load that am.
I quickly headed to the roundup site instead as the day before they had already captured 40 horses before my arrival. Leaving holding early didn't change anything, they still had about 40 prior to my arrival on Day 4. Keep in mind we leave our "meeting" spot at 4:30 am, that's how much driving is involved.
The comments from Shepherd that were so distressing go like this: "The palomino foal had weak tendons. The little chestnut has a bad mom. The other foal I saw treated has a laceration to a leg, but it's pre-existing. The animals drain the water and it needs to be refilled a couple times."
Did that hit you like it hit me from the State Lead for Nevada's Wild Horse and Burro program, Alan Shepherd? Did that hit you like it hit me from the man that constantly blames the animal for it's situation? (Old Mare at Antelope) Did that hit you like it hit me from the man that took part in several "Final solution" conversations for our wild horses? (2009 Article animal Law Coalition) Did that hit you like it hit me from the man that answered in Federal Court that there were "no fences, no cows, no water" in the Owyhee HMA? (Gorey's explanation to Horseback)
At the Antelope Complex Roundup this past winter there was the exact same situation with this contractor (it is a pattern). When I pointed out the deficiency Ben Noyes, the WH&B specialist in Ely simply grabbed more tubs for water and placed them in the pens. He directed the contractor to appropriately distribute feed. He made no excuse.
Perhaps a man like Ben Noyes that is able to admit a deficit and comprehends that the equation for the amount of horses translates into water consumption, should be the state lead and Mr. Shepherd should go muck at the Burns Corral until he comprehends what horses are?
I was told the runners went out to get the two injured foals. We already know that is also not the truth.
watch?v=39Kq-tb-hqo
Day 4 video coming soon.
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Fri Jul 22, 2011 4:46 am (PDT)
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This one's for you, BLM
Laura Leigh | July 21, 2011 at 11:22 pm | Categories: Uncategorized | URL: http://wp.me/pOAos-Ff
My readership has risen over the last month. Many are wild horse advocates that have come to expect me to report on the issue. But many of my readers are government personnel from various agencies.
I realize that my observations today will not make officials "happy." But I report what I observe and the logical conclusions that can be made.
If it is good I will say so.
The Kiger/Riddle roundup had serious access issues at both the trap and holding. But with what could be observed there were no issues with pilot performance, so it was not mentioned nor criticized. At the Burns Corral I was actually given access. What I saw was reported honestly. Yes, it was a professional (that is what I am) assessment of performance. The staff at the Corral has every right to be proud of what they do.
Today I saw very real indications that the issues I observed at the Antelope roundup with this same contractor are repeating at Triple B. The most basic assessment tool is still denied me, the ability to take a respiration rate. (That no official nor contract staff was taking either, btw) However being able to see the sexes of the horses and the time frame it took to bring them in, give me every pause that there are still serious issues. I could see the "signature" flying at the mouth of the jute fir the first run and knew the pilot.
This time of year is extremely fragile in a wild equine population. Roundups should not be occurring in the state of Nevada at all in July. The combination of foaling season and heat create a dynamic where only the "best" should attempt any such operation.
11 horses is not enough to confirm, but it is enough to raise the question. Yet the opportunity to further evaluate that issue through observation of sorting by sex as the horses leave the range will not be available again and other "tools" will come into play.
The "padding" that could be seen was not on each bar that should have had it and it was significantly inadequate,no more than a "see we did it" statement. LOOK at your own Corral in Burns.
Today the PR staff was a pleasure to be with. Chris Hanefeld and I have spent more time alone together over the last year than I have with any man in a long time. He is a pleasant human being. Jeff Fontana came in from Twin Peaks. Jeff is also a very nice man who really does like his job and people. He is a great "front guy." Jeff is also very willing to have discussions that contain mutual respect and a willingness to discuss areas that could be imporved and Jeff and I agree on many things.
Yet neither Chris nor Jeff make policy. Too bad.
This is for those in DC reading my blog: Access to evaluate must occur. An actual discussion about how to assess a wild population must occur. I am amazed at how little basic tools are utilized by onsite "vets" and the lack of comprehension for the value of those tools.
There needs to be serious reform and standards of review that have consequence... and not just to the horses anymore.
Just had to get that "off the chest."
Oh... and tell your Rangers to lighten up. Not one armed guard was there to glare and bark at Kiger, not one. They sit at the area of operation entrance to monitor any incoming traffic and that was it. I'm a journalist and wild equine subject matter expert. I use "my big girl words" and have always followed directions.
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BLM Solicits Pasture Facility Bids
by: Pat Raia
July 07 2011, Article # 18492
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is seeking bids from landowners interested in providing new long-term holding pastures for BLM mustangs removed from the ranges.
The agency annually removes some animals from their ranges to control herd growth and maintain the integrity of rangelands. There are 38,500 wild horses and burros roaming BLM managed ranges in 10 Western states. Another 40,000 wild horses and burros are cared for in either short-term corrals or long-term pastures. Both groups are considered free-roaming animals under BLM's jurisdiction according to the Wild Free-Roaming Horse and Burro Act of 1971. Some wild horse advocates oppose the gathers and long-term holding of animals on grounds that removing the animals from the range violates the Act and that roundups endanger the animals.
On July 5 the BLM announced it is soliciting bids for one or more new long-term pasture facilities to accommodate between 800 to 5,000 animals. Agency spokesperson Tom Gorey said the pastures may be located anywhere in the continental United States and be able to provide humane care for a one year period, with a renewal option under BLM contract for four one-year extensions.
"If any of these bids seem suitable, we'll go out, do a site visit, and analyze the site to make sure there's enough forage for the animals," Gorey said.
The solicitation is open until August 19 and is 100% set aside for small businesses under the North American Industry Classification System, Gorey said.
The BLM's bidding requirements are posted in solicitation L11PS00651, and all details regarding the solicitation are available at www.fedconnect.net.http://www.thehorse.com/ViewArticle.aspx?ID=18492

Screening of Wild Horses & Renegades - Washington D.C.

Thursday, July 7 · 6:00pm - 9:00pm

Location:

U.S. Capitol Visitor Center, Orientation Theater South, beneath the East Front plaza of the U.S. Capitol at First Street and East Capitol Street

Washington DC film premiere of new documentary to highlight brutality and wasted tax dollars of Bureau of Land Management wild horse roundups
Congressmen Raul Grijalva (D-AZ) is honorary host of free July 7th screening
Washington DC, June 29, 2011.... A new full-length documentary by director James Anaquad-Kleinert will premiere in Washington DC on July 7th to draw attention to the horrific mismanagement of wild horse roundups conducted by the Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Land Management. The free screening supports proposed federal action that will reinstate protection of America’s wild horses and our public lands.With dramatic footage, Wild Horses & Renegades exposes how millions of taxpayer dollars are being used to corral the few remaining American wild horses, which are then underfed, forced into inhumane and diseased living conditions, and sold for adoption or to Mexican slaughterhouses for human consumption. The Bureau of Land Management estimates it has over 40,000 wild horses in holding facilities, costing taxpayers $120,000 a day.What: Free Washington DC Premiere of Wild Horses & Renegades, with honorary host Congressmen Raul Grijalva (D-AZ).When: Thursday, July 7th, 2011, 6 PMWhere: U.S. Capitol Visitor Center, Orientation Theater South, beneath the East Front plaza of the U.S. Capitol at First Street and East Capitol StreetWho: Director James Kleinert, Michael Blake (author of Dances with Wolves), Raoul Trujillo (actor in Cowboys & Aliens) and Congressmen Raul Grijalva (D-AZ) will be in attendance.In Wild Horses & Renegades, Anaquad-Kleinert weaves shocking footage of actual roundups with the story of a horse named Traveler and his journey from a strong stallion on the range to a broken inmate at a Bureau of Land Management processing center in Canon City, Colorado. Shot in high definition, this film’s incredible aesthetics contrast with the mismanagement of our last wild public lands.In the film, Willie Nelson, Sheryl Crow, Viggo Mortense, Raoul Trujillo, Daryl Hannah and Dances with Wolves author Michael Blake join with former New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson and Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-AZ) to highlight how the great symbol of the American West is being purposefully driven to extinction by a corrupt Bureau of Land Management. The documentary captures the corporate benefits of wild horse roundups, including clearing land for Uranium mining claims, oil and gas pipelines and corporate cattle grazing. Anaquad-Kleinert is offering the film as a tool to spark support for an executive order ending Bureau of Land Management wild horse roundups and an a congressional investigation into the Department of the Interior. “Whereas most Americans would be shocked that the very symbol of the American West is ending up being sold for human consumption, the Bureau of Land Management shows very little regard for the life of wild horses,” said Director James Anaquad-Kleinert. “The federal attack on the American wild horse is an indicator of what is to come of our public natural resources.”Wild horse advocates are seeking:A moratorium of roundups in all but verifiable emergency situations while the entire BLM wild horse program undergoes objective and scientific review;Higher Appropriate Management Levels (AML) for wild horses on rangelands designated for them;Implementation of in-the-wild management, which would keep wild horses on the range and save taxpayers millions annually by avoiding the mass removal and stockpiling of wild horses in government holding facilities.“If the public could view what’s being done to wild horses, the public would stand up and take action. This is not a film just about America’s Wild Horses, this is a film about what is happening to America itself,” states Michael Blake, author of Dances with Wolves, in Wild Horses & Renegades.Wild Horses & Renegades is available for review on request. More information is available at HYPERLINK "http://www.theamericanwildhorse.com/" www.theamericanwildhorse.com. About James Anaquad-KleinertAlways ready to tackle challenges, James Anaquad-Kleinert, the former World Cup competitor in aerial freestyle skiing, has been hailed for both his high action winter sports films and his in-depth environmental films with a strong Native American element. Anaquad-Kleinert produces from his company, Moving Cloud Productions based in Santa Fe, New Mexico ( HYPERLINK "http://www.movingcloud.com/" www.movingcloud.com). Other works include The Edge of Telluride and Spirit Riders, an award-winning documentary that showed in part on HBO.com ( HYPERLINK "http://www.spiritridersmovie.com/"
www.spiritridersmovie.com).

The Animal Welfare Institute’s updated report on the state of America’s wild horses is now available. If you would like a copy you can click on the link below or if you would like to order a large number of the booklets please email me directly with your request.

Shortcomings of the Bureau of Land Management's National Wild Horse and Burro Program

An overview of the BLM's failure to properly manage these symbols of the American West, 2011, 30 pages.

Executive Summary

A government program biased against the very animals it is designed to protect threatens today’s wild horses and burros. Our national Wild Horse and Burro Program and related federal lands management policies are so flawed that the long-term survival of these animals is in serious jeopardy, as is the health of public lands on which they reside. The federal agencies assigned management authority for the program, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) in the US Department of the Interior and the US Forest Service (USFS) in the US Department of Agriculture, have lost sight of their legal mandate to “protect” wild horses and burros. Instead, agency officials have focused almost exclusively on accommodating livestock and other commercial uses – at the expense of the welfare of wild horses and burros. This report will demonstrate that:

-The BLM and USFS are not in compliance with laws and regulations governing the management of public lands and the protection of America’s wild horses and burros;

-The BLM and USFS Wild Horse and Burro Program and related public lands management policies strongly favor private livestock and other commercial interests to the detriment of wild horses and burros, as well as the health of the land;

-The agencies’ claims regarding wild horse and burro populations in the wild today and estimated rates of increase are questionable;

-The “Appropriate Management Levels” (the number of wild horses and burros deemed suitable by the BLM and USFS to live on the range) are arbitrary;

-The agencies’ mismanagement of the wild horse and burro program wastes millions of tax dollars each year; and

-Their strategy for the future management of wild horses and burros is scientifically reckless, economically unsound and ethically unjustifiable.

This report describes the history and politics of the controversial and deeply interwoven issues of wild horse and burro management and taxpayer-subsidized livestock grazing on public lands. It offers a new vision of how to better address these often-conflicting interests for the long-term benefit of wild horses and burros, the public lands on which they reside, and the American citizenry.

The Animal Welfare Institute has been working to alleviate the suffering inflicted on animals by humans since 1951.

Please join us in our work to protect animals – visit our website to find out more and to sign up for AWI eAlerts:www.awionline.org.

Please consider the animals and their habitat before printing.

Wild Horses Died of Stress

By Sandra Chereb (Associated Press Writer)

RENO, Nevada (AP)-- Nine young mares that survived the barren deserts of the West died of stress induced by their capture and a 1,000-mile truck ride to Colorado.

The horses died of "capture myopathy,'' a condition in wild animals triggered by anxiety of capture, according to test results released Tuesday by the Bureau of Land Management.

Forty mares and 10 studs were loaded into a truck Feb. 17 (1998) at the BLM's center in Palomino Valley north of here for the 24-hour trip to a similar facility south of Denver.

Nine horses arrived showing signs of distress. None survived.

Handling of the animals is a topic being addressed by a new advisory board looking into issues surrounding the estimated 44,000 wild horses and burros that roam free across 11 Western states.

"The advisory board will be looking into ways to minimize stress, whether on the range, during gathers or as they move through the adopt-a-horse program,'' said Robin Lohnes, a board member and the executive director of the American Horse Protection Association in Washington, D.C.

The 26-year-old adoption program was intended by Congress to reduce the number of animals competing with ranchers' cattle for scant forage on federal lands. Horses are rounded up into corrals and put up for adoption.

The establishment of the advisory panel followed reports last year by The Associated Press that thousands of animals adopted through a federal program were sold for slaughter with BLM employees among those who profited.

The AP also reported that the BLM lost track of about 32,000 adopted animals and that agency officials gave false information to Congress.

Some good news!
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Mustang News
Please Continue to Share Our Message to Oprah YouTube Video:
Click here to watch. We are over 12,000 views! Let's reach our goal of 50,000 by sharing this link with all your colleagues, friends, and family!
Paiute Horses Get Delivered to Mustang Monument!
Dear Friend and Supporters,
Mustang Monument: Wild Horse Eco-preserve made history yesterday! I'm going to try my best to begin to let you know the power of Mustang Monument.
Yesterday, we were blessed with the arrival of the first truckload of the Paiute mares and foals. These are the lucky mustangs that were rescued days from slaughter last December.
During the unloading process there was such a huge windstorm that kicked up. Luckily the dust started to settle as the mares and foals were unloaded into a temporary round pen built with bales of hay. Then, we opened the gates to set them free in one vast, but still fenced off area.
Literally hundreds of acres was theirs for the taking.
As they saw the gate was open, they each were looking around, and very gently the lead mare floated forward with her mane and tail flowing in the wind. Each of the other horses happily followed her lead. They were all now at their forever home. The sight was truly overwhelming. It was so emotional for me with tears of joy and relief streaming down my cheeks.
I cannot aptly describe the experience, but this is definitely a mission driven by God. He has blessed us all with this wonderful gift. I felt that the wind storm was so poignant to this situation, because when God created the earth and man, there was a mighty storm. It's rather like a birthing. We are so lucky. I am so lucky. I've been surrounded by so many supporters and friends and I can't thank you all enough. I am overwhelmed, speechless, and very fulfilled. It's a new beginning.
Love, Madeleine and the mustangs xxxxx
Click here to watch the first horses to set hoof on Mustang Monument!!!
To Learn More about this issue, please visit our website: www.SavingAmericasMustangs.org
and please join us on Facebook and Twitter!www.facebook.com/mustangmonumentwww.twitter.com/mpickens
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-Abraham Lincoln
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Mon May 30, 2011 9:34 pm (PDT)
This bill needs co/sponsors to move.
May 26, 2011 - Introduced in House. This is the original text of the bill as it was written by its sponsor and submitted to the House for consideration. This is the latest version of the bill currently available on GovTrack.
HRES 284 IH
112th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. RES. 284
Honoring wild horses and burros as important to our national heritage.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
May 26, 2011
Mr. GRIJALVA submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources
RESOLUTION
Honoring wild horses and burros as important to our national heritage.
Whereas the evolutionary origin of equines is found in North America;
Whereas wild horses and burros are part of the ecosystem and rangelands of the United States;
Whereas wild horses and burros are an important part of our national heritage;
Whereas the National Wild Horse and Burro Program should provide for continued long-term existence and well-being of wild horses and burros on public lands; and
Whereas Cloud, the most famous and revered wild stallion, was born May 29, 1995, on the Pryor Mountain Wild Horse Range, and embodies the essence of wild horse values of freedom and family: Now, therefore, be it Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
(1) honors the 16th birthday of Cloud;
(2) encourages the people of the United States to observe and celebrate the 16th birthday of Cloud and the intrinsic value of all wild horses and burros;
(3) recognizes wild horses and burros as living symbols of the western development era and honors their hardy nature; and
(4) recognizes that with the American frontier long since closed, wild horses and burros remain among the last representatives of the freedom and spirit of the Old West.

Message to Oprah from Celebs: Not Ready to Say Goodbye to Our Wild Horses

Celebrity supporters and Saving America's Mustangs have come together in a viral video to generate awareness and the importance of protecting our American mustangs from extinction. The video is directed to the attention of Ms. Oprah Winfrey. We need the support of influential teachers like her, to get this out to the world before it's too late. We know Oprah's show is ending, but it there is a person that can make change happen, it's her.
Sharing is caring. Please share this video to your entire contact list and via Facebook and Twitter.
Together, we can create positive change for our wild horses.

On Friday, May 13, 2011 at 3:30 p.m. Assembly Bill 329, which was already passed by the Nevada State Assembly, will head to the Senate Committee on Natural Resources. If approved, it will give the State of Nevada the legal power to deny wild horses and burros water by removing them from the definition of the term "wildlife".

The only way to stop this legislation is to call, fax and/or email the Senate and tell them that you strongly oppose AB 329.

There is power in numbers, so the more people that call the better. These offices are set up to tally responses. Contact information is listed below. Let's stop this legislation before it's too late for the living symbols of American history that are supposed be protected by Federal Law.

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is accepting public comments on the Environmental Assessment (EA) for a plan to capture 90 percent of the wild horses living in the White Mountain and Little Colorado Herd Management Areas (HMAs) in Wyoming. The BLM wants to permanently remove 696 of the mustangs in a mid-July 2011 roundup, a time when the agency has admitted that "foals are smaller," "water requirements are greater," and horses "may become more easily dehydrated."

Summer roundups last year resulted dozens of deaths, including at least 15 caused by dehydration-related complication.

In Defense of Animals, located in San Rafael, Calif., is an international animal protection organization with more than 100,000 members and supporters dedicated to ending the abuse and exploitation of animals by protecting their rights and welfare. IDA's efforts include educational events, cruelty investigations, boycotts, grassroots activism, and hands-on rescue through our sanctuaries in Mississippi, Mumbai, India, and Cameroon, Africa.

In Defense of Animals is a registered 501(c)3 non-profit organization. We welcome your feedback and appreciate your donations. Please join today! All donations to IDA are tax-deductible.

Wed Apr 20, 2011 12:03 pm (PDT)
American Wild Horse Preservation Campaign
Hello Marge, April 20, 2011
View this email online here.
Approved 2011 Federal Budget Spells Disaster for Wild Horses & Burros
BLM Confirms Plans to Resume Roundups in July
Starting in the hot summer month of July, wild horses will once again be running for their lives as the Interior Department resumes mustang roundups. The 2011 budget passed by Congress last week provided enough discretionary funds for the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to "fully meet its funding needs for the Wild Horse and Burro program." Acting Wild Horse and Burro Management Program Director Karla Bird confirmed to AWHPC last week that, in the wake of Congress' budget vote, the agency plans to launch new roundups in July, days after the end of "peak foaling season," May - June.
BLM's success in convincing Congress to increase the wild horse program's budget at a time when funding for other federal programs was slashed can in part be attributed to support from western Senators and Representatives under the sway of the powerful cattlemen's lobby. The cattlemen want mustangs removed from public lands to make room for cheap, tax-subsidized livestock grazing. Only the power of the people can break the stranglehold that this special interest group has on Congress.
Help us spread the word and grow our grassroots network of taxpayers willing to stand up against the costly and cruel assault on our wild horses and burros. Please click here to easily send letters-to-the-editors of your local newspapers.
Take Action: Oppose Another Roundup of Wyoming Mustangs
636 Wild Horses Targeted for Removal from White Mountain and Little Colorado HMAs
Just five months ago, Wyoming's wild horse population suffered a huge blow when more than 2,000 horses were removed from the Adobe Town and Salt Wells Creek Herd Management Areas (HMAs) in the Red Desert. Last month, the BLM announced the planned removal of 500-600 wild horses from the Red Desert Complex, which consists of five HMAs adjacent to the Adobe and Salt Wells HMAs. Now the BLM's Rock Springs Field Office is planning to remove an additional 696 horses from Wyoming. The agency is now accepting public comments on its proposed roundup, which is scheduled for July 2011 - not only the hottest time of the year, but also a time when the majority of foals will be three months old or younger.
It's important to document public opposition to each and every one of these needless roundups. Please take a minute to register your opposition here.
AWHPC Founding Sponsor Advocacy Sponsor
The American Wild Horse Preservation Campaign (AWHPC) is dedicated to preserving the American wild horse in viable free-roaming herds for generations to come, as part of our national heritage. Supported by a coalition of over 40 organizations, its grassroots campaign seeks:
* A suspension of roundups in all but verifiable emergency situations while the entire BLM wild horse program undergoes objective and scientific review;
* Higher Appropriate Management Levels (AML) for wild horses on those rangelands designated for them;
* Implementation of in-the-wild management, which would keep wild horses on the range and save taxpayers millions annually by avoiding the mass removal and stockpiling wild horses in government holding facilities.www.WildHorsePreservation.org
Also of Note...
BLM Excuses Inhumane Conditions at Utah Holding Facility
Last week, we shared with you video of the BLM's "Butterfield" (Herriman, Utah) holding facility where horses were forced to stand in knee-high mud and feces. BLM is now defending those deplorable conditions, saying they are "unavoidable" in springtime. However, keeping large numbers of wild horses in pens requires diligence and removal of animal waste in a timely fashion in order to avoid these types of conditions. After removing the mustangs from the range, the BLM has an obligation to keep them in sanitary and humane conditions.
You can read BLM's response to the media here. After reading this article you may want to send a short letter to the editor at letters@sltrib.com.
Carole King Speaks Up for Wild Horses
Thanks to music legend Carole King for posting a link on her Facebook page to the American Wild Horse Preservation Campaign (AWHPC) and helping us gain hundreds of new subscribers to our enews list!
Last year, Carole featured the stunning wild horse photography of Elissa Kline on her acclaimed "Troubadour Reunion" tour with James Taylor, bringing the plight of America's wild horses to sold-out, international audiences. Elissa is a talented photographer, committed wild horse advocate, and AWHPC supporter. Read more about her photos and the tour here.

Wild Horse Education has uploaded the next section in
the free book “Wild Horse Education,” to the website.
The section titled "Roundup Reality" addresses some of the contradictions
between the theory of roundups and what are witnessed by public observers.
“There are no consistent government standards for the way roundups are
conducted,” said author Laura Leigh “no rules for pilot conduct, no rules
for time animals spend without water. The only rules that seem to exist,
even inconsistently, are those limiting public access.”
The section centers on discussion of the protocol surrounding helicopter
roundups. Some of the assertions on the Bureau of Land management website
are addressed. Among the challenges made in this section are: the statistic
used representing mortality rate, the minimization of the stress induced by
the helicopter chase and the published “foaling season.”
The next section is titled “What FOIA?” This section explains what the FOIA
request is, where it is useful and how to make one. This section will be
uploaded soon so check back!
WHE would like to remind all of you that it is not too late to express to
your Legislators how you feel about Appropriations.
Find Your Representatives
http://www.congress.org/congressorg/officials/congress/?lvl=C&azip=Your%20ZIP%20code%20here
Website:
http://WildHorseEducation.org
Free Book:
http://wildhorseeducation101.wordpress.com/work-in-progress/
scroll to bottom of post for downloadable sections.

A wild-horse advocacy group has released videotape of a Utah holding
facility that it says shows mustangs living in unhealthy conditions.

The Cloud Foundation said the video shot by activist Lisa Friday last month
at the U.S. Bureau of Land Management’s Salt Lake Regional Wild Horse and
Burro Center in Herriman, Utah, underscores the need for the agency to halt
further roundups of the animals from the range in the West.

Among other things, the group based in Colorado Springs, Colo., said
THE VIDEO SHOWS HORSES THAT WERE UNABLE TO MOVE FROM A KNEE-DEEP MIXTURE OF
MUD, MANURE and URINE.

“I saw more than 10 HORSES IN ONE PEN TRYING TO ESCAPE the quagmire, but
their legs were suctioned deep into the mud,” Friday said, adding she also
saw
30 HORSES LAYING DOWN IN THE MUD THE ENTIRE THREE HOURSshe was at the facility.

The video contains disturbing images of once-wild horses penned in areas
where they were unable to navigate out of a knee-deep mixture of mud,
manure, and urine. Friday, a wild horse adopter and long-time horsewoman,
reports of seeing 30 horses laying down in mud and excrement for the entire
three hours in which she was at the facility. ”They never got up,” she
states.

“I saw more than 10 horses in one pen alone trying to escape the quagmire
but their legs were suctioned deep into the mud,” explains Friday.

“Seeing wild horses in this kind of squalor is heart-breaking,” says Ginger Kathrens,
Director of The Cloud Foundation who has spent 17 years documenting the wild
lives of horses in her Cloud productions for PBS. “I don’t understand how BLM can
justify the removal of these animals from the safety of their wild homes,
only to dump them into these hellish conditions. I seriously doubt that the
American taxpayers want their money used for this kind of cruelty.”

HERE’S WHAT YOU CAN DO TO HELP THE ABUSED WILD HORSES AT THE
BUTTERFIELD FACILITY

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To Learn more about the wild horse issue, please visit our website
Ted Turner Joins SAM!
Since the early 1970's, Ted Turner has stepped into the international spotlight with one accomplishment after another. Whether in billboard advertisement, cable television, sports team ownership, sailing, environmental initiatives or philanthropy - Turner's vision, determination, generosity and forthrightness have consistently given the world reason to take notice.
Turner now dedicates his time and resources to making the world a better, safer place for future generations. His current philanthropic interests include: the Turner Foundation, the United Nations Foundation, the Nuclear Threat Initiative, the Captain Planet Foundation, and the Turner Endangered Species Fund.www.tedturner.com
Ted Turner Joins the Saving America's Mustangs' Advisory Board!
We are pleased to announce that Saving America's Mustangs has a new Advisory Board member, Mr. Ted Turner!
"The Turner Foundation looks at the earth as a precious asset that has been lent to us. As a family, we believe it is our job to do whatever we can to leave it better than we found it." R.E. Turner, Chairman
Turner is a true champion of animals and the environment. We are so honored to have his support with our wild horse eco-preserve project.
Please note, on April 14th I will be in Washington, DC testifying before the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Appropriations, Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies on the Bureau of Land Managements' Wild Horse and Burro Program. I will testify as a public witness and then directly following me, Congressman Burton will speak. As always, we will update you immediately following the hearing on our fan page, www.facebook.com/mustangmonument, so don't forget to click "like" so you can get up to the minute details.
We also want to thank Mark Terrell of Wild Horses of Nevada Photo for donating his gorgeous photograph for us to use on our billboards for Mustang Monument. Please look at his website and see how he captures the beauty of not only the wild horses, but the beautiful landscape in Nevada as well!
Together, we will save our wild horses!
Best,
Madeleine Pickens & all the mustangs
Let's Be Social...
Please join us on Facebook and Twitter. We love to get to know our fellow wild horse supporters. Please share these links with your friends and family. We are creating a huge army of supporters and we will prevail!
Facebook: www.Facebook.com/MustangMonument
Twitter: www.twitter.com/mpickens
Website: www.savingamericasmustangs.org

Wild Horse Education is proud to announce a new project “Wild Horse Education Room 101.”
This project is designed to explain the process of management of wild herds on public land. Terminology, public involvement and basic management practices will be addressed in a free book being offered to the public as it is written in draft form.
“Time is of the essence here” said journalist Laura Leigh, founder of Wild Horse Education “often I see extreme frustration in the eyes of those that ask basic questions about wild herd management simply because of the terminology used on a website. Hopefully this project can help people understand how to help our American Treasure.”
Irreparable damage is being done to our wild herds as roundups occur and policies are carried out that are leaving our herds in a form of genetic bankruptcy. Herds are being pushed below population levels that can reproduce new members that are genetically sound toward sustainability.
The Bureau of Land Management, BLM, manages more wild herds than any other agency. Currently we have about half the number of areas managed for wild populations as we did when the Wild Free Roaming Horse and Burro Act was passed in 1971. Of those areas less than half have a population that can hope to recover from the policies that are being carried out at “break-neck” speed on public land.
“It is our hope that this new project helps quell some of the frustration,” said Leigh “Right now our herds need as many effective voices to be raised as they can get.”
To get a copy of the book go to www.WildHorseEducation.org scroll to the bottom of the page and click the picture captioned “Free Book”
Wild Horse Education is a registered non-profit in the State of Nevada. All of the work, including the First Amendment lawsuit protecting your right to know how your horses are handled by your government, is supported by contributions to Wild Horse Education. Thank-you.
Marge
"You can't be liberated in your thinking if you're conservative in your approach."

BLM Plans Dangerous Summer Roundups of Oregon Mustangs
Send In Your Comments Opposing Unnecessary Actions Today!
The Interior Department's Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is requesting public comments on the Environmental Assessments (EAs) for roundups in the Three Fingers and Jackies Butte Herd Management Areas (HMAs) in southwestern Oregon. The proposed action will utilize helicopter stampedes conducted during the dangerous heat of August. The BLM is targeting 460 mustangs for capture; 310 of them will be permanently removed from the range. Only 75 mustangs will be left in these HMAs where BLM allocates nearly three times more forage and water to livestock than to wild horses.
Please get your comments in today to oppose these roundups, which continue BLM's gross mismanagement of our nation's wild horses and burros. Take Easy Action Here.
Marge
"You can't be liberated in your thinking if you're conservative in your approach."

Laura Leigh Launches New Wild Horse EndeavorToday is the launch of WildHorseEducation.org.
The purpose of this new organization is to provideinformation to the public and to other wild horse and burro advocacy groups. This will be accomplished through documentation and distribution of material related to the care of wild herds “One month ago today I received a text message while at the Antelope roundup,” said Laura Leigh, founder, Wild Horse Education “It said the roundup was over, three days early. Armed with information the pressure was put on by the public to stop heavily pregnant mares from being driven in. That is the power of timely, accurate on public land and subsequent care and disposition by government agencies.information.”
This seemed a fitting anniversary to launch the new project.
Data gathered in the field and research from volunteers will be shared through this organization. It is the hope of those beginning WHE that a vehicle is created to share this information in the spirit of unified action to protect America’s wild herds.
Legal actions begun through the filings by attorney Gordon Cowan of Reno, Nevada will be continued through the work of this organization. “I have taken the oath to defend the Constitution many times in my career,” said Cowan “that is what this is all about.”
To join the mailing list for WHE send an e-mail to: WildHorseEducation@gmail.com
Website: http://WildHorseEducation.org
Marge
"You can't be liberated in your thinking if you're conservative in your approach."

Call to Action: Let’s Go Viral for the Wild Horses and Burros
Clog the Faxes and Turn Up the Volume!
Attention Wild Horse and Burro (WH&B) Warriors across the Nation – Suggested action needed for our wild ones!
Please foward this entire post to all your email lists, FB, Twitter, networking groups and blogs asap and ask them to do the same.
Then, take the recommended actions listed below:
Congress is working, as we type, on the FY11 CR (Continuing Resolution) and the FY12 Budget. The FY11 CR is due for another vote on or before 4/9. Starting Mon, 3/28 and going through 4/8 we MUST pull out all the stops to call, fax and email our reps in DC to reject ANY increases to the WH&B program budgets which will, in turn, suspend roundups/removals temporarily so that reforms can be implemented.
Congress needs to be pressured from thousands of constituents before they’ll take the right action on behalf of our wild ones. So, here’s our chance to make a difference. Follow these easy steps:
1) Go to http://www.congress.org/congressorg/directory/congdir.tt?action=myreps_form and type in your zip code to get the names of your two Senators and House rep.
2) Click on each rep name, then click on the Contact tab to get their DC phone and fax numbers and jot them down (save for future use).
3) Click on the rep’s website link, then the Contact link to get to the rep’s webmail/email page, select ‘Budget’, ‘Federal Budget’ or ‘Animals’ as the Topic, if applicable, cut and paste the Subject and message below into the webmail and send that off.
4) Cut and paste the Subject & message below into a document addressed to your 3 reps from you, with your address, the date, print it out and fax it to each of them.
5) Call your 3 reps’ offices in DC and recite to them the message below.
6) Do the above steps as many times as you can in the next 2 weeks.
Subject: DOI/BLM Wild Horse and Burro Program – Stop Funding & Stop Roundups/Removals though FY11 and FY12 Appropriations
I am an American taxpayer and citizen who wants our iconic wild horses and burros to be properly protected and preserved for generations to come on their legal Western homelands.
This is not happening with the current mismanagement of the program by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). They are using the sole strategy of cruel and deadly roundups, removals and warehousing of wild horses and burros at huge taxpayer expense when more cost-effective, on-the-range management strategies could be utilized.
The BLM is, literally, managing America’s Western heritage to extinction and must be stopped until the entire program is scientifically revisited and completely reformed.
As your constituent, I request you to categorically support appropriations language right now that:
- rejects the additional $12M funding for the program in the FY11 CR & FY12 Budget and maintains the FY10 level of $64M both years.
- suspends roundups/removals in all but verifiable emergency situations while the NAS conducts a scientific review of the Program.
- prohibits the use of any funds to euthanize healthy wild horses and burros directly or indirectly for slaughter.
- funds public/private partnerships and allow conversion of private livestock grazing allotments to wild horse and burro use.
- funds an independent, state-of-the-art census of wild horse and burros on the range and in holding to obtain an accurate population baseline.
- requires truly reformed, humane wild horse and burro handling protocols.
Thank you for your immediate attention. I would appreciate a response from you on whether or not you will support this request in the committee negotiation stage and/or when it comes up for vote on the floor in the near future.
Sincerely; John Caring Public
Come on Advocates, this is one message that needs to be spread around to anyone that you know or who you have met. If Wild Horse Annie did it with school children writing letters to Congress we can SURELY do it with the high tech tools that we have at hand. Make a difference, hit the buttons below and spread the word for the sake of the horses and burros.

For more information on Wild Horses send your friends to visit us, here, at: Straight from the Horses Heart

Anti-Wild Horse Bill Passes Nevada Senate Committee

LAS VEGAS -- With all the financial trouble Nevada is in, you might think state lawmakers would welcome a project that will bring millions of dollars to the state and attract tourists from around the world.

After years of mismanaging wild horse and burro populations by unjustifiably — and often inhumanely — removing them from their environment by the thousands through cruel, costly roundups, the the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is now soliciting input from the public on how to reform its broken program and ultimately create a more humane, fiscally responsible, sustainable approach to managing wild horses and burros on our public lands.

We want you to be aware of the Senate Joint Resolution 5 (SJR 5), which is an anti-wild horse measure backed by a small group of special interest cattlemen that opposes wild horse preserves.

The Saving America's Mustangs Foundation is currently developing Mustang Monument: Wild Horse Eco-Sanctuary, in Nevada, that will generate jobs and revenue to the state; especially the rural communities in Northeastern Nevada. Mustang Monument will be a patriotic living museum that showcases Nevada's rich history and culture, the wild west, and of course, America's beloved wild horses.

So, we have to ask, why in the middle of the worst budget crisis in decades, is the Nevada Legislature considering a resolution to impede an important source of tourism dollars?

Please take action today by the clicking the button below to tellyour legislators to vote "NO" on SJR5, because it is bad for Nevada and bad for our mustangs.

We thank you for your continued supportand lending your voice to this cause. As always, we encourage you to tell your friends, neighbors, family, and teachers about the plight of the mustangs. Together, we will get a positive change for our 4-legged American icons.

March 22, 2011 (Washington, D.C.) – The Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) is honored to announce the exclusive release of the Rolling Stones’ classic “Wild Horses” - performed and produced by the legendary Willie Nelson and his family members. Willie & The Nelson Family are donating the proceeds from the sale of the song to AWI’s campaigns on behalf of wild and domestic horses. Willie and the entire Nelson family are long-time supporters of AWI and its efforts to end horse slaughter and preserve the right

of wild horses to roam free.

"The BLM has been rounding them up at an alarming rate, supposedly for their own good. Sadly, there are more wild horses in holding pens than in the wild. Something is wrong with that, so we must act now before the BLM has managed these magnificent animals into extinction," said Willie Nelson. “It’s time for the cowboys to stand up for the horses.”

The Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act was enacted in 1971 to halt the disappearance of these iconic animals from public lands in the American West. Since then, however, over 20 million acres of land set aside by Congress for wild horses have been removed from their range, even as the Bureau of Land Management (BLM)—the very agency charged with their protection—claims there is not enough land to support existing herds. The BLM is unnecessarily removing horses based on spurious claims of damage to range and other adverse impacts. The BLM’s mismanagement of America’s wild horses is largely designed to benefit a livestock industry that has for decades, exploited western public lands while profiting from massive subsidies funded by taxpayer dollars. Willie & The Nelson Family and AWI are calling on the BLM and the Obama administration
to immediately halt all wild horse round-ups, restore the land provided by law to wild horses and to stop warehousing horses on private lands at even greater expense to the taxpayer.

“There is no greater voice than Willie Nelson when it comes to speaking for the underdog. For decades, Willie has fought to protect family farmers in America, while also advocating for the humane treatment of horses and other animals,” said Chris Heyde, deputy director of government and legal affairs for AWI. “We are so grateful for the support of Willie and the entire Nelson family and we hope this song will raise awareness of the deteriorating situation facing wild horses and help turn things around before they disappear from their lands forever.”

For more information about the problems facing wild horses and what can be done to improve BLM’s wild horse program, please visit www.awionline.org/wildhorses.

To download your very own copy of Willie & The Nelson Family singing “Wild Horses,” please visit www.awionline.org/willienelson today! You can download a copy from your favorite music service such as iTunes and CDBaby.

Join us in our effort to save America’s wild horses before it is too late! Be sure to share this release with your local radio station and encourage them to play the song for America's wild horses.

The Bureau of Land Management announced today that the National Wild Horse and Burro Advisory Board will hold a two-day meeting in Phoenix on March 10-11. The two-day event will take place at the Sheraton Phoenix Downtown Hotel, 340 N. 3rd Street, Phoenix, Arizona, 85004.

Wed Feb 16, 2011 6:14 pm (PST)
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: The Cloud Foundation <news@thecloudfoundation.org>
Date: Wed, Feb 16, 2011 at 1:50 PM
Subject: Action Alert: BLM Public Meeting
Email not displaying correctly? View it in your browser.http://us1.campaign-archive2.com/?u=b16d80346618d3ce64e8e9877&id=6998182d10&e=cfc83693afhttp://thecloudfoundation.us1.list-manage.com/track/click?u=b16d80346618d3ce64e8e9877&id=f33d005ea1&e=cfc83693af
BLM Public Meeting in March
Come join the Cloud Foundation in Phoenix and give a voice to wild horses and burros
Dear Friends of our Wild Horses and Burros;
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is holding a meeting Thursday and Friday March 10-11 in Phoenix, Arizona, to discuss its proposed new wild horse and burro management strategy. This isthe first meeting in nearly a year and an opportunity for the American public to stand in front of the Wild Horse and Burro Advisory Board and the BLM to voice your opinions on the management policies of the agency, the complicity of their carefully selected Advisory Board, and solutions available to right the many management wrongs. Or, just simply come to support others making comments.
We will be attending this meeting, and I urge you to join us. We cannot allow the BLM to continue rounding up the last of these great symbols of the West. The roundups themselves have devolved into shoddy, careless actions in which wild horse families are destroyed, burros are hot-shotted and knocked to the ground by helicopters http://thecloudfoundation.us1.list-manage.com/track/click?u=b16d80346618d3ce64e8e9877&id=e924cc7989&e=cfc83693af,
and old, weak animals are harassed into collapse http://thecloudfoundation.us1.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=b16d80346618d3ce64e8e9877&id=4e99c66bd0&e=cfc83693af.
We need to present a united front and ask for the following (pick your
favorite topics):
- Halt all roundups, at least temporarily
- Raise the number of wild horses and burros (AML’s) allowed to live on
their legally designated ranges
- Allocate the majority of forage in herd management areas to wild horses
and burros (“principal” users as stated in the WHB Act)
- Improve existing water sources
- Remove fencing to allow for truly free roaming behavior
- Allow for genetically viable populations
- Abandon the artificial skewing of sex ratios, return to a natural 50-50
- Protect mountain lions that have limited wild horse populations growth
naturally
- Return healthy wild horses in holding into zeroed out herd areas
- Sincerely explore public-private partnerships
The public comment period of the meeting will be held on Friday, March 11, from 9 AM to 12 PM. People who wish to speak need to arrive by 8:30 AM to register, and per BLM “must provide a written statement of the comments, which may be brought to the meeting.” The BLM’s notice of this meeting can be found here http://thecloudfoundation.us1.list-manage.com/track/click?u=b16d80346618d3ce64e8e9877&id=c8f795603e&e=cfc83693af.
If you are unable to attend the meeting, the BLM is accepting electronic comments through their website here http://thecloudfoundation.us1.list-manage2.com/track/click?u=b16d80346618d3ce64e8e9877&id=816ae7ecad&e=cfc83693af.
You can find a sample form on the Cloud Foundation website.
The meeting itself will be held at the Sheraton Phoenix Downtown Hotel at 340 N. 3rd Street, Phoenix, AZ 85004. (We are looking into reserving less expensive hotels in the area as the Sheraton is pricy---what a surprise! Our tax dollars at work!)
Show up for the mustangs and burros! See you there.
Happy Trails!
*Ginger*
You are receiving this email because you have asked to be on our e-mail list. If you have received this e-mail in error, please unsubscribe. We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience!
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Our mailing address is:
The Cloud Foundation 107 South 7th St Colorado Springs, CO 80905
Our telephone:
719-633-3842
Copyright (C) 2008 The Cloud Foundation All rights reserved.
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* Barbara Anne Dunn*
*www.DarkHorseRanch.com *
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Today's News
Please visit the site for the full article, links, videos and to comment.
http://observers.france24.com/content/20110203-video-us-wild-horse-capture-branded-animal-cruelty-activists-BLM-mustang-roundup
Video of US wild horse capture branded animal cruelty by activists
Wild mustangs - majestic herds of undomesticated horses that roam free
across ten US states - are a symbol of the American Wild West. Animal rights
activists, though, say that government-planned roundups to control the
herd's population are nothing short of animal cruelty - and claim they have
videos to prove it.
The mustangs have been protected since 1971 under the Wild Free-Roaming
Horses and Burros Act. According to the American Bureau of Land Management (BLM),
there are an estimated 38,400 wild horses and burros roaming on 31.9 million
acres of BLM-managed rangeland. The agency says this number is 12,000 above
the number that it asserts would ensure the herds' health and allow them to
"exist in balance with other public rangeland resources and uses", ie, there
are too many mustangs.
As a result, the agency employs subcontractors to carry out regular roundups
(or, as the government calls them, 'gathers') of wild mustang herds, most of
which are done by helicopter. The animals are then taken to a long-term
holding factilities. Animal rights activists have called for a moratorium of
roundups, saying they are cruel and brutal to the animals. The BLM says this
stance is "untenable given the fact that herds grow at an average rate of
20% a year, and the ecosystem of public rangelands are not able to withstand
the impacts from overpopulated herds"
NY bill to ban horse slaughter
MA bill has one day left to get cosponsors
Please visit the below two articles for information and action items.
New York:
http://www.animallawcoalition.com/horse-slaughter/article/1569
Massachusetts:
http://www.animallawcoalition.com/horse-slaughter/article/1519
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BOISE, Idaho (AP) - A federal judge has ruled in favor
of an environmental group seeking to reverse the Bureau of Land Management's
decision to renew grazing permits in central Idaho's Pahsimeroi River
Watershed.

The BLM, Carson City
District-Stillwater Field Office, is suspending the Clan Alpine HMA wild
horse gather that was scheduled to start approximately Feb 1, 2011. "An
aerial census conducted in late December of the wild horses in the Clan
Alpines shows that the population is low enough that gathering horses in
that area to treat the mares with a fertility control vaccine is not
warranted at this time"

Plan to roundup over 2,000 American Mustangs on
Delaware-sized range, where thousands of livestock graze, contested

Reno, NV (January 10, 2011)—The Cloud Foundation
opposes spending millions of taxpayer dollars to wipe out America’s wild
horses. Currently the BLM plans to roundup and remove up to 2,228 alleged
“excess” wild horses from the 1.3 million acreAntelope
Complex in northeastern Nevada. The Foundation asks that all roundups
halt until the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) completes their
study and new Appropriate Management Levels (AMLs) are set to prevent the
American wild horses and burros from being managed to extinction. This dead
of winter roundup is scheduled to begin January 20, 2011, and last for 40
days.

The Antelope mustangs’ range (to be managed principally
for them in balance with other wildlife) is larger than the entire state of
Delaware at 1.3 million acres, but is allocated for grazing by a monthly
average of more than 7,700 head of privately-owned livestock. At the
same time BLM has set the allowable level for wild horses in the Antelope
Complex at only 407 animals.

“The Cloud Foundation is calling for an evaluation and
reallocation of forage rights for wild horses in burros in the Antelope
Valley Complex and beyond,” explains Cloud Foundation Director,Ginger
Kathrens.

In 2007 BLM conducted a deadly winter roundup in the
Antelope Complex, removing 847 mustangs and leading to scenes like those
depicted in a series of disturbing photographs (posted
online here).

Should this action go forward, the herd will be left
with a predominately male sex ratio. More than 200 mares will be given the
experimental infertility drug, PZP-22 that should be applied only in
late winter or early spring according to experts. Drugs and sex-ratio
manipulation will lead to unknown levels of social disruption among
once-stable wild horse family bands as mares continually cycle with an
unknown number giving birth at the wrong time of the year.

A new and relatively inexperienced roundup crew, Sun J,
will conduct the roundup as contracted by the BLM. The roundup is estimated
to cost at least $4.5 million and leave only one wild horse per 3,100
acres.

It is time to re-slice this pie and give wild horses
their fair share of our public rangelands,” states Kathrens. “In Antelope
and beyond they are given only a pitiful sliver.”

"Lack of forage is not the issue. Looking at
the Antelope Complex you see allotments where 3,500 sheep are allowed to
graze—but only 6 horses are allowed to live on the land,” explains Kathrens.
“On another allotment where more than 450 cattle graze year round, only 40
wild horses are permitted. The bias favoring welfare livestock is
shocking. BLM needs to put this and all other roundups on hold to develop
sustainable policy before wild horses are managed to extinction."

The Foundation and more than 200 other organizations
and celebrities began a unified call for a moratorium on all roundups
more than a year ago. In July 2010, 54 members of Congress sent a letter to
Interior Secretary Ken Salazar requesting a moratorium on roundups alongside
a National Academy of Sciences report. Massive winter roundups such
as the one planned for the Antelope Complex will leave dozens of American
mustangs dead. Last year the winter Calico Roundup in Northern Nevada
more than 112 died and at least 40 mares suffered late-term induced
abortions from the stress of the roundup. At least two foals’ hooves
literally separated from their feet, suffering an excruciating pain prior to
their deaths.

BLM repeatedly blames wild horses for range damage
while allowing exorbitant numbers of livestock to graze in wild horse and
burro management areas. Nationwide, “welfare livestock” are estimated
to do up to a billion dollars of damage to public lands annually. Again and
again, healthy wild horses are removed to allow for public lands grazing
leases that do not even recover their grazing program administrative costs,
running in the red by at least $123 million annually. Nearly 40,000
wild horses and burros are currently held in captivity by the US
government while less than half that remain in the wild on their rightful
rangelands.

“Our wild horses and burros are a valuable asset to our
public lands ecosystems,” explains Kathens. “They are clearly not starving,
destroying their habitat or in need of ‘rescue’. It is time for the BLM to
take a time out and sit down with the public to re-establish how American
treasures are to be managed.”

The Cloud Foundation is a 501(c)3 non-profit
dedicated to the preservation and protection of wild horses and burros on
our Western public lands with a focus on protecting Cloud's herd in the
Pryor Mountains of Montana.

Subject:USA: Budget
Spells Disaster for Wild Horses--Act Now!
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Read it online in your browser.
Dear Animal Advocates,
As you may know, Congress is currently trying to pass a federal budget for
fiscal year 2011. Unbelievably, although the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM)
Wild Horse and Burro Program is widely known to be broken and unsustainable,
the House of Representatives has approved increasing its funding.
The BLM plans to use this funding to remove another 10,000 wild horses from
public lands next year. If this happens, the population of mustangs
warehoused for life in government holding facilities would swell to
45,000—to the tune of $50 million in taxpayer money. Meanwhile, privately
owned herds of cattle are allowed to graze on the same land that was
“overcrowded” with wild horses.
We do have a chance to stop this: the Senate is still debating the 2011
federal spending bill, but the deadline to make changes and pass it is
midnight on Saturday, December 18.
Now is the time for the Senate to hear, loudly and clearly, that Americans
are tired of wasteful spending on mismanaged, inhumane government programs
such as the Wild Horse and Burro Program. What You Can Do
Please act fast—send an email to your two U.S. senators urging them to vote
NO on any version of a fiscal year 2011 spending bill that allots money for
the removal of wild horses from our public lands. Visit the ASPCA Advocacy Center now to send
your email. (http://capwiz.com/aspca/issues/alert/?alertid=20819646)
Thank you for taking action for America’s wild horses, who, without your
help, could soon become extinct.

There is a group in Utah called the "Utah Sulphurs", a
group trying to save these historic wild mustang herds in Utah, as they are
a "national heritage species" in Utah.

Dr. Gus Cothran stated, Sulphurs have a clear Spanish
component in its ancestry. Sulphurs have 56% "dun factor" in feral herds,
which is the highest known to occur in any feral herd.

Dun factor are all of the "zebra-like" markings.

The Sulphur Horse's ancestors ran with the Native
Americans and the cowboys of the Old West, they fought with Spanish
Colonists in Southern California, they invaded Mexico with the Conquistadors
and crossed the Atlantic with Columbus.

In 1971, when the US Wild Free-Roaming Horse and Burro
Act mandated the protection of these Wild Horses as a "national heritage
species", to live on "public lands" for all to enjoy, America mistakenly,
put their trust into the hands of the BLM. Now the very same people who are
supposed to protect America's Mustangs are exterminating them. The PURPOSE
of this Group is to encourage the Utah Senate and Congress to proclaim The
Sulphur Springs Mustang as Utah's State Horse, keeping the herd intact and
in Utah, forever!

DATES: The next regular meeting of the Eastern Montana
Resource Advisory Council will be held on
Dec. 2, 2010 in Billings, Montana.
The meeting will start at 8 a.m. and
adjourn at approximately 3:30 p.m.

ADDRESSES: When determined, the meeting location will
be announced in a news release.

SUPPLEMENTARYINFORMATION: The 15- member Council
advises the Secretary of the Interior through the Bureau of Land Management
on a variety of planning and management issues associated with public
land management in Montana. At these meetings, topics will include: Miles
City and Billings Field Office manager updates, subcommittee briefings,
work sessions and other issues that the council may raise. All meetings
are open to the public and the public may present written comments to
the Council. Each formal Council meeting will also have time allocated for
hearing public comments. Depending on the number of persons wishing to
comment and time available, the time for individual oral comments may
be limited. Individuals who plan to attend and need special assistance, such
as sign language interpretation, tour

transportation or other reasonable accommodations
should contact the BLM as provided above.

Today (Monday Nov. 1) we had what we considered to be a
very positive meeting with Nevada Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto
and some key members of her staff. Representing the advocates were Carrol
Abel, Bonnie Matton, Shirley Allen and myself, along with Mike Holmes as our
side's "expert."

Having everyone in one room, we discussed a whole array
of issues ranging from what we considered to be violations of state laws in
how Virginia Range horses were being sold by the Department of Agriculture,
as well as our allegations involving extortion, the Susan Pohlman horse
dumping incident, improper cancellation of cooperative agreements, improper
destruction of public records, and what might and what might not be criminal
violations as opposed to civil violations (violations that do not have
criminal penalties attached to them under Nevada law.)

Since we were still pursuing possible criminal issues,
it probably is not appropriate to comment other than to say that certain
staffers were instructed to look into certain occurrences.

It is my personal observation that the members of Ms.
Masto's staff came away with a better understanding of some terms and issues
that specifically relate to horses and livestock, and we came away with a
better understanding of some of the nuances of Nevada criminal procedure.

With respect to the Virginia Range horses that are
presently standing at the Fallon Livestock Exchange, I was informed by Mr.
Wayne Howle, Ms. Masto's Solicitor General, that a directive had been issued
basically instructing the Nevada Department of Agriculture to not
sell any horses in its possession until Ms. Masto's office could review the
situation and determine the procedures that the Department must follow. We
thank Attorney General Masto for her quick response to this particular
request.

Now that we don't have to worry about horses being sold
tomorrow (Tuesday) we will focus on resolving what we can of the other
issues that we raised. Ms. Masto and her staff offered some suggestions
that might prove beneficial in seeking long term resolutions to some of the
concerns that we raised.

At the very least we all now have a better
understanding of the various aspects to the problems that we were
discussing. As a result we should be able to effectively address those
issues that are addressable, and present a case to the Legislature regarding
those areas where the state statutes were overly ambiguous so that they can
amended to eliminate "manipulation" by individuals wishing to subvert the
law.

On behalf of the advocates present, we thank Ms. Masto
and her staff for facilitating some very constructive dialogue. Now we just
need to stay on course and get results where we can.

Annapolis, MD. Rally for our horses!
Speak out against horse slaughter and the roundups of our wild horses!Date: Friday, October 29, 2010
Time: 10:00 AM to 12:00 NoonWhere: Lawyers Mall, located across the
street from the State House
Parking: Naval Academy Stadium lot is best option (410-212-2211); street
parking is very limited (time alloted and spaces available)Contact: Maria Kimble (mlk@acmeemail.com
(mlk @ acmeemail.com)) or Ann Marini
(rashm2@comcast.net
(rashm2 @ comcast.net))

Please post on Facebook and pass along to friends and
family who may want to join us in Annapolis!

Best regards,

Maria

Please Send One E-Mail
Today To Help Thousands Of Wild Horses

Every decade the Interior Department’s Bureau of Land
Management (BLM) district offices revise their Resource Management Plans (RMPs)
which guide how resources such as water and forage are allocated. At this
level long-term plans are made for the administration of the public lands –
this is when the usually arbitrary and artificially low “appropriate
management levels” are established for wild horses and burros.

We appear to have resolved the "mystery" over a
directive that came out last week regarding picking up Virginia Range
horses. This directive was originally attributed to Governor Gibbons.

As most of you may recall, word got out that attributed
a comment to the Nevada Dept. of Agriculture that the Governor had issued a
directive to start picking up horses. The Governor's office staff said that
they didn't know anything about it. Then word circulated that the
Department had been the one to issue the directive and that the Governor had
"signed off" on it, or words to similar effect.

Ms. Rombardo of the Governor's office actually found a
copy of this document and graciously forwarded it to me. It is now posted on
the AOWHA web site. The directive actually came from Director of
Agriculture Tony Lesperance and according to the document, it was merely
cc'd to the Governor's office and wasn't received by that office until the
19th. Therefore according to the written record, Governor Gibbons
did not initiate this action.

This document has a few problems associated with it
beyond the strange use of the English language (i.e., directing a state
employee to "start estraying.")

One interpretation of the directive is that it can be
used to place all the responsibility on Darryl Peterson who is employed as a
brand inspector, not a horse manager. Peterson, a field person who sits at
the bottom of the Department's totem pole is routinely assigned blame for
things gone wrong in the office.

In the directive Director Lesperance directs Peterson
that horses that are picked up have to be advertised (a procedure that the
office has failed to properly do on occasion, not Peterson whose duties are
out in the field and do not include advertising.) Based on our past
experience with Director Lesperance, this statement appears to be a bit of
misdirection.

More importantly this "directive" includes a patently
false statement.

Director Lesperance declares that the horses "must be
sold at auction precisely as described in NRS 569."

NRS 569.080 and NRS 569.075 indicate that the
Department may sell the horses if they cannot be placed with a
cooperator (e.g., the prison training program, qualified horse groups, etc.)

NRS 569.080 is a little ambiguous since the language
pertaining to placement through cooperators was added a few years after the
original language indicating that the horses could be sold, however NRS
568.075 states, "The Department may sell all feral livestock which it
has gathered if the Department determines that the sale of the feral
livestock is necessary to facilitate the placement or other disposition of
the feral livestock."

In reading the minutes from the State Legislature, the
legislative intent here is unequivocally clear. Former Director of
Agriculture Don Henderson proposed the added language because placement of
horses through cooperators was preferential, and his department would not
receive assistance from other agencies if horses were picked up and sold for
slaughter. If the cooperators were unable to accept horses
for placement, then the Department had the option to make a
determination that placement alternatives did not exist in which case the
Department was obligated to sell the horses.

The present Virginia Range horse fracas appears to boil
down to two hot button issues.

1. Director of Agriculture Tony Lesperance has created
the present "crisis" (horses showing up on highways) by refusing to
authorize agents or cooperators to engage in the historic methods of
controlling horses through "diversionary feeding" programs. In looking over
historic data, the trend shows a four fold increase in horse-vehicle related
problems since the diversionary feeding authorizations were rescinded. The
present rash of horses-in-traffic problems is directly attributable to
Director Lesperance.

2. Because horses that are removed are going directly
to the auction, and in some instances horses have been sold without the
legally required advertising (including to a kill buyer,) it appears that
neither the Nevada Department of Corrections or the BLM will assist the
state in picking up these horses. I'm not sure what effect that development
will have on NDoA's ability to trap and remove horses.

Nonetheless, these are the issues that are relevant at
the moment and need to be satisfactorily resolved.

Additional details relating to the history of the
Nevada Department of Agriculture and Virginia Range horses can be viewed in
the archived copies of AOWHA notices.

":O) Willis

Dear Animal
Advocates,
All year, we've been updating you about the Bureau of Land Management's (BLM)
efforts to remove wild horses and burros from public lands. Now BLM is at it
again, and we need your immediate help!
BLM is required by law to create a Resource Management Plan (RMP) for
certain public lands and their use, and the federal agency is currently
considering an RMP for the Winnemucca District in northwestern Nevada.
Unfortunately, this proposal does not adequately protect and preserve wild
horses and burros, or alter the BLM's reliance on inhumane and fiscally
irresponsible wild horse roundups and removals.
BLM is accepting comments on its proposal for the Winnemucca District until
Monday, October 25. It is critical that BLM hears from you before this date
to ensure that wild horses in the Winnemucca District are not eradicated.
What You Can Do
Please take a few minutes to email BLM’s Winnemucca District Office and
encourage the agency to adopt a responsible RMP for northwestern Nevada.
Your support is an essential step in protecting and preserving wild horse
and burro populations.
Please visit the ASPCA Advocacy Center to send your letter. (https://secure2.convio.net/aspca/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=2759&JServSessionIdr004=z76upgkw53.app226b)
Thank you for taking action for America’s wild horses.

Ely, Nev.
–The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Color Country (Utah) District, Cedar
City Field Office; and BLM Ely (Nevada) District, Schell Field Office have
issued the Decision Record for the Final Environmental Assessment (EA) for
the Eagle, Chokecherry, and Mt. Elinore Herd Management Areas Wild Horse
Gather. The BLM will gather and remove approximately 748 excess wild horses
from in and around the Eagle, Chokecherry, and Mt. Elinore herd management
areas (HMA), about 50 miles southeast of Ely,
beginning in January.
There are currently more than 714 wild horses in the Eagle HMA where the
appropriate management level (AML) is 100-210 wild horses; 85 wild horses in
the Chokecherry HMA where the AML is 30 wild horses; and 79 wild horses in
the Mt. Elinore HMA where the AML is 15-25 wild horses. Approximately 15
horses reside outside the HMAs.
If more than 748 wild horses are gathered, selective removal criteria would
be used to return horses to the range. Of the horses remaining on the
range, BLM would conduct fertility control measures on mares and/or adjust
the sex ratios of the gathered animals to be returned to the HMA to 60
percent male/40 percent female ratios.
Removing the excess wild horses will help to prevent further deterioration
of the range, and achieve and maintain a thriving natural ecological balance
and multiple-use relationship as required under the 1971 Wild
Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act, and Federal Land Policy and Management
Act of 1976, as well as help to achieve and maintain healthy, viable wild
horse populations.
The gathered animals will be transported to the Indian Lakes Road Facility,
in Fallon, Nev., and Delta Wild Horse and Burro Facility, in Delta, Utah,
where they will be prepared for the BLM adoption program. Un-adopted horses
will be placed in long-term pastures where they will be humanely cared for
and retain their “wild” status and protection under the 1971 Wild
Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act. The BLM does not sell or send any
horses to slaughter.
Using your web browser, navigate to
http://www.blm.gov/nv and click on the Ely District. Under “In the
Spotlight,” find the Wild Horse Gathers section and click on the Eagle,
Chokecherry, and Mt. Elinore Herd
Management Area Wild Horse Gather link. The Environmental Assessment and
Finding of no significant impact documents may be found under the Decision
Documents section. The BLM will also provide updates and information at the
same Web address on a regular basis throughout the course of the gather.
For more information, contact Chris Hanefeld, BLM Ely District public
affairs specialist, at (775) 289-1842 or
chris_hanefeld@blm.gov.
-BLM-